Return of the Riders
by Dragonboy111
Summary: Three years ago, Hiccup disappeared from Berk mysteriously. Three years after that disappearance, the dragon raids on Berk are now more common than ever, with no ending in sight. What will become of them when a strange man who rides a Night Fury is seen on the island? Who is he? Where did he come from? And why is he at Berk?
1. Gone with the wind

**Hello. this story happens _after_ Hiccup is chosen to kill the Monstrous nightmare. credit to **_T_ _he Wizard Rider_ **for the inspiration to make this. his story is** _Dragon Rider's Return_ **. I don't own HTTYD. Please review. Don't put hurtful comments. Some Hiccstrid possibly may be included as well.**

 **Now, onto the story!**

* * *

"I am so... leaving." said Hiccup. "That's it. Looks like you and I are taking a little vacation... forever."

Toothless sat up and tilted his head, curious at this unusual idea Hiccup was presenting forward.

"Yes. We're leaving. We can't stay. After everything I've done. How can I truly stay here on Berk? We have so leave. So eat up. This will be a long journey so eat." Said Hiccup as Toothless made Purring noises. he liked the sound. it was rather calming. he quietly waited for Toothless to eat.

After training a dragon, he couldn't kill one. It was hard to believe that he had once wanted to kill dragons. But Toothless changed everything. He showed Hiccup that everything he had Thought he knew about dragons was wrong. They were no longer beasts to him, but now they were more like friends. Toothless had changed his mind about dragons. But he couldn't change what everyone else thought.

That was why he needed to run away. Leaving was the only way to avoid killing the Nightmare and keep Toothless safe from the rest of the tribe. This was the only good solution. His father would be sad, if that was even possible. Astrid would get her wish of being the viking to pass the final test. He almost felt bad for her. He had cheated to win. Snotlout was a Viking, so was Fishlegs and the twins. But now he could put it all behind him. No more Berk. No more secret training. No more jealous Astrid. This was going to be great and he could tell.

Hiccup checked his bag. He had his drawings for tailfins, weapons, saddle designs, and a jar of dragon nip. He had left a copy of the drawings in his room because they should eventually know about his secret training, if they were smart enough to. Where he and Toothless would go he didn't know, but he wasn't coming back and he knew it. Toothless knew it to. After he was sure he had all the supplies, he had one last look at the place where he and Toothless had trained.

"Take a good look bud, cause we won't come back any time soon." After saying this he jumped on Toothless and flew off, away and never wanting to come back To the island.

"Hiccup!" Yelled Stoick. "Today's the day!"

He barged into Hiccup's room, a smile on his face. His boy! Hiccup! would become a true Viking! Who knew? One day he's the runt of the island, the next he's flying through his training. Astrid was promising but Hiccup was even better at defeating Dragons. But this happy smile faded as soon as he that saw that Hiccup wasn't in his room. Where was he? Maybe he was to happy to sleep? Perhaps Gobber knew.

He ran to the forge and busted open the door off it's hinges.

"Gobber! Where's Hiccup?"

Gobber was still half-asleep.

"Give me back my sock! That's my favorite one!" he yelled, swinging his hook around

"Um, Gobber?"

"What? Oh, hey chief. How'd you get here? And what happened to the door? Did I sleep through another raid again?"

"Have you seen Hiccup?"

"No."

Stoick told everyone to search for him. They all came up empty. The search went on all day, but no anvil. The docks, forge, armory, and arena were all empty.

"We couldn't find him Stoick." said Spitelout. "You're driving everyone into the ground like this."

"I don't care!" Yelled Stoick. "We have to find him."

"And if we don't?" said Gobber "Some of them, well not me, are wondering, when the search will stop. And what if we don't find him."

Stoick remained very silent to this. Spitelout and Gobber went on with the almost endless search.

"Hiccup." whispered Stoick, a small tear slowly crawling down his cheek. "Where are you?"

"I think this was a good idea bud." said Hiccup. "Now that we're away, imagine what we could do. Find new dragons, explore, whatever we want! The world's our's to see. No raiding for you, and a life away from Berk. No killing dragons."

Toothless just flicks his ear-flap and grumbles, clearly board and uninterested at the speech.

"I know, I know. We'll land soon."

After a while they stopped flying and glided to an island and decided to stop for the night. They camped out under the trees. As they were eating, Toothless spit out some fish and looked up at Hiccup, his ears perking up.

"Eww... Gross. I mean, Toothless, I've already eaten."

Toothless just swallows it right back up. Hiccup nearly vomits at the sight. Hiccup then lays down on the soft grass to sleep. Toothless wraps his wings around him, and they slept unaware what dangers might be might be out there watching him.

When Hiccup woke up he was in complete darkness. He panicked for a moment, then realized he was under toothless's wing. It was warm, and he didn't want to get up, but he had to. He crawled out, careful not to wake the sleeping night fury, and meet fresh air and sunshine. But Toothless had already woken up, cause he sat upright and yawned.

"OK bud, time to get going."

After eating a fish or two they took off, but Hiccup heard a strange noise. He looked behind him and saw four dragons, each with three tails, staring up at him. They yelled at each other they started flying at Toothless. Hiccup had never seen these dragons before!

"OK, we have REALLY got to get going now."

They flew away from the island, and into a storm. Even with dragons firing behind them, and a storm ahead, they still went on.

That was, before the two started spiraling. Hiccup looked back to see that they had hit Toothless's prosthetic tail. They fell towards a small, foggy island with smooth black pebbles covering the shore. The two crashed and Hiccup was tossed off Toothless, hurling him into a large rock. His vision blurred and the last thing he saw was what looked like a golden night fury defending Toothless and beating back the wild dragons. He also saw a person quickly running over to him. Those were the last things he saw before he lost all consciousness and blanked out.

* * *

 **What a cliffhanger! Right?**

 **And yes, for you dragon nerds, those dragons were were triple-strikes. (sluether could have been there, you decide.)**

 **This my first "Hiccup runs away" so reviews will be helpful.**


	2. Raids and dreams

**hello. I hope you like the story so far. Thanks for all the support on the story.**

 ** _Wizard Rider._** **Thanks you for the support.**

 **Yes,** **there** **will be some OC's, as you could tell in chapter one. Most OC's are not mine. (Most were suggested) The time of updates will change. reviews/ comments will really help. But anyways, Astrid's POV.**

* * *

Astrid looked out at the hundreds of dragons raiding Berk. This was... what? The third raid that night? She had to stop them from stealing the food needed for the freeze. Why did they attack Berk and few of the other islands? If they attacked the Outcasts that would help. She focused on the task at hand. Yelling as loud as she could, she hit a gronckle with all her might. She hit it again and again. Until it fell, completely unconscious.

"One down, far too many to go." said Astrid.

The flash of fire made her loose her balance. She fell and hit the ground hard, knocking her breath out. As she was there, a Terrible Terror look down at her like she was stupid. She yelled and she swung her battle axe, knocking the beast to the ground. She smiled at the pure stupidity of the creature. It was just flying there. Small body, small brain. She turned around to go see Fishlegs.

"progress!" she yelled over the raging battle.

"Snotlout and the twins took out a nadder, but now the twins are fighting about how to knock out a gronckle, although they might be fight over how to do it. I don't know how Snotlout's doing. You and I are here, I knocked out a zippleback with some help. Oh, and Stoick is fighting TWO nightmares."

"Wow. That's crazy even for him. Any Night Furies seen?"

"None. Well, I don't think so."

"Excellent." She could only wish she could have shot one down.

But now she was now the most skilled young warrior in Berk. She was second-in-command to the chief when Gobber wasn't around. The challenge to kill the Monstrous Nightmare was a breeze. She glanced to her right to see one breathing a stream of flame on a house. She raised her axe, ready to strike. But Snotlout stopped her and said, "Hey babe, watch and learn. I've..."

"SHUT IT!" She yelled. The Monstrous Nightmare turned and set Snotlout's pants alight. Using the distraction, she attacked the beast. _No Night Furies... none._ There had been no Night Furies for almost three years. And was she really asking for one to show up? Was that a good idea? Even so, the attacks only got worse. Even more dragons, overall tougher as well.

 _It's been three years._ three years since Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Stoick's only child, had vanished. Stoick was so... full of grief. Astrid had always been there for him, but Hiccup was a runty boy and useless. But for some reason he just _got_ good. You don't just get good. But at the beginning of training in the arena, he only hid behind an object so as not to get hit. But somehow he kept on beating everyone using strange tactics. He would reach his arm out, and the dragon would just... fall. He quickly became the favorite of the village, even Snotlout left Astrid alone so he and the rest could talk to him. And Snotlout was always bullying him. Then Hiccup vanished, taking all his secrets with him.

When he vanished, everyone on the island was nervous, because Hiccup was one of the most promising vikings of his time. Oh what in Thor's name was she doing? Hiccup had been dead for three years. Yet, every year she though more and more of the boy who had disappeared those three years ago.

 _STOP IT! Astrid_ ordered herself. Thinking about him will not help the village. A few vikings ducked as a Zippleback fired a flaming ball at them. Astrid went for a water bucket. She Remembered the training lesson, how the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs were taken out right away. Hiccup was close enough to throw the water. Gobber was yelling to throw the water. He only got the water two feet into the air, nowhere close to the head. Wimp.

Oh Helheim, she was thinking thinking about him again. Why did he keep crossing her mind? She had better things to do.

Astrid saw the dragon leaving. What did they use all that food for? Can't they catch their own fish? And they usually stay a lot longer. But who was She to complain? At lest she could get some sleep, if her house was still standing. Plus Astrid was helping Gobber with training the next day.

As Astrid slept, she dreamed. She was in the woods, sunlight streaking through the trees. She was Fifteen, that was three years ago.

"Astrid." A voice called.

"Hello?" She asked in a shaky voice. She couldn't control her voice as she responded.

"Astrid." The voice said again.

Astrid quickly turned around. And there, sitting on a boulder, was someone she hadn't seen in years. Hiccup. He was wearing his usual pale green shirt and fur coat. he jumped off the boulder, and walked slowly towards her, a mischievous smile on his face. He suddenly broke into a run. Astrid couldn't move, so she put her arms up to defend herself. But when Hiccup reached her, he strangely vanished.

"Astrid?" Astrid turned around. It was Hiccup, but different and older. He wore tan clothes with two shoulder pads and a leather strap on his right. His right shoulder pad had the symbol of the strike class, but half of the dragon's tail was red. He was still smiling. He ran at her again, only to disappear once more.

She walked and found herself in a cove with a small lake. She was twenty again.

"Hello Astrid." Astrid turned around quick. She saw a Hiccup, no it wasn't him. Was it? The man wore black and brown armor, and a helmet covered his face. This man walked over to her, but he didn't disappear. He slowly reached out his palm. Astrid's hand reached out. She couldn't stop herself, like her hand was being forced to. But as she did a shadow grew behind him. Was it... no, It couldn't be. A Night Fury! The dragon's head snapped to the left, looking at her. Astrid moved back a few steps. But the strange the man was unmoved. He looked at Astrid, and moving side-by-side _with_ the dragon they quietly retreated into shadows.

"I warn you, for your knowledge is false."

Astrid woke up covered in sweat. Her was breathing was heavy. She thought back to the day Hiccup had disappeared. There was a search party that went on for weeks on end. No stone was left unturned. Some of the vikings were, for some reason, happy. But when no body was found, Stoick still wanted a funeral.

With Hiccup presumed dead, Snotlout would be chief. Oh... That would be a true nightmare, even worse that the one last night. And with the Jorgenson family running the place Snotlout could easily arrange for him to marry Astrid. Why did hiccup have to leave? The village would be in ruins after the first day.

Why did she dream of Hiccup?

 _It could mean he's alive._ said a voice in her head. _A vision from the gods?_

 _It's been three years, There's no way he survived._

 _A funeral doesn't make a man dead._

 _NO! He's dead and you know it!_

 _STOP IT!_ Astrid ordered herself. Why did she have to dream about him? The dream was still there, stuck in her head. It wasn't going anywhere any time soon. But as Astrid thought to herself, she wondered who the masked man was. And why was he was with a Night Fury!

She needed to clear her head. She stepped outside ready for a new day.

 **Hello. you guys are busting my email! glad you love it, oh and about that dragon in chap. one? you'll find out in the next one.**

 **Please review, Favorite/ follow**

 **See ya!**


	3. Land of riders

**Wow, just, wow. The amount of emails from favorites, followers, and PMs is absolutely crazy. Thanks a lot for the support.**

 **And to _Core of justice._ Sorry, but I will not be making an all-powerful Alpha Fury. I won't use a Mary sue, so very sorry.**

 **I Lied about OC relationships, one of the OC's has a crush on Heather. Nothing more**!

 **Hiccup uses a sundial to check time, not clocks. I don't think they have those. The word "sniper" in the story means long range, accurate attacks.**

 **Have a good read. And please don't forget to review.**

* * *

It was a peaceful day, an island that was located many miles away from Berk. A neighboring island being the Defenders of the wing. It was a simple, but civilized place. A twenty-year old man was flying through the sky with his dragon. A Night Fury named Toothless. He liked morning flights, they calmed him down. Speaking of which, the man checked his sundial. Oh! He was supposed to meet up with Antius and Vius a little under an hour ago for the race.

"Hey bud, we got to get going. We're late for that race."

He twisted the foot control that changed the position of Toothless prosthetic tail. It was red and had the drawing of a night fury. The symbol of his riders, and his favorite dragon tail. They turned around to meet up where he was supposed be about an hour before.

"We got to get there fast, they don't like us being late."

The wind blew wildly at his dark brown hair. It wasn't long, it was just a mess. He could only get two tiny braids behind his ears. He had dark green eyes, like his dragon. He was rather thin for his age. But he was very fast. He had to be if he was going to go on dangerous adventures. Adventures, that summed up part of his life. He looked down at his sundial again. C _ome on Toothless, little bit faster._ He silently urged his friend on. He didn't bother to put his mask on. They already knew him, so there was practicaly no point.

He had a small amount of scars on him. Mostly on his arms, legs, and a small one on his face. He got most of them from his adventures. The result of a wild dragon encounter, sometimes when he would run into a dragon hunter, once when he even dualled one of his friends. they were tiny and faded, but there. He also spent a lot of his spare time improving His dragon's prosthetic tail fin, sometimes his sword or shield.

The man's name was Hiccup.

When he finally got to his destination, he hopped off. Toothless glided down to land right next to him. Hiccup ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Among the others in the group he caught sight of his two best friends, Vius and Antius.

"Hey. Why you late? Did you _fall_ asleep on Toothless again?" Asked one of his friends - Vius. He had short golden hair that was a little messy. He was twenty, only a few weeks older than Hiccup. He wore a black shirt with a golden tan dragon scale outfit over it. He had Auburn-hinted, silver armored cuffs on his arms from the wrist to the elbow. A long silver blade made of an un-named metal rested in it's Scabbard at his side. He also wielded a bow and arrow. His dragon was a Sand Fury named Shoreshot. He was laying on the ground, quietly watching them. He was sandy gold with tiny specks of black. His ears were also tipped black. Like Vius, his eyes were a slightly dark shade of amber. He was a sniper, accurate and powerful. "Come on. Let's race!"

"OK Vius, calm down." Responded Hiccup's other friend - Antius. He had very dark brown hair with small, clumped bits of white. His eyes were a cold blue. He also was twenty, about a week or two younger than Vius He wore all white, besides his black armor plates on his arms and legs. The hood he wore could cover his eyes completely, unlike Vius's. Antius's dragon was a Snow fury named Icewing. She was pure white. But the tip of her ears were blue, and almost looked like they were made of ice crystals. Her eyes were an icy blue. Toothless rather enjoyed her presence, not that they were mates or showed any signs of wanting that to happen.

"Come on, I want payback for you beating Icewing." Said Antius with determination.

"You're on!" replied Hiccup. "I'm going to win like last time."

"Doubt that." Said a voice. The riders turned around to see a man riding a another fury.

 _Great._ thought Hiccup. _It's Zyon._ Zyon was a few years older than the others. he had been elected as the leader of another group of riders. he He wasn't the tallest, but he had a lot of muscle. His dragon, Saphira, was an unnamed fury breed. She had small spikes in between her ears. The membrane of her wing was a light blue, she had a scar under her right eye, which both were a dark blue. Most of her body was a dark blue and black. She to, had a lot of muscle.

"I you think you'll have a chance against Saphira."

"We beat you last time." Responded Vius.

"And the time before that." said Antius.

"And the time before that." Added Hiccup.

"I was going easy on you!" Yelled Zyon. "You can't beat me and Saphira!"

"Saphira? As in the dragon whose species you won't let us species because the name's _not good enough._ "

"I'm her rider, so i choose the name." Zyon walked away to find Heather, who was the only person that would listen to him. But that didn't mean she agreed with his ideas. Hiccup found it amusing that they didn't agree on everything but still got along just fine.

"So..." Asked Hiccup. "what's the prize? Most of the riders are here, so it must be good. And you haven't told me."

"Remember those three really cool saddles Johan had?"

"Oh, I remember those." Johan had come around to their islands with some very fine saddles. One had golden lacing and polished leather, another was white with black spots, and the last one was a very fine dark brown leather. Comfortable and durable. They were just perfect.

"Those are the prizes for the winners. Gold saddle for first, spotted white for second, and dark brown for third."

"When's the race going to start?"

"About.. now."

"Wow. What a race." declared Antius. The result were, surprisingly, for there being over ten people, Hiccup, Vius, and Antius. In that order. They were about to fly back on their new saddles.

"I would have won if Zyon hadn't decided to try and push me out of the sky." complained antuis, a little upset.

"Heather and windshear nearly beat you." Teased Hiccup.

"But that's because her _boyfriend_ tried to throw me down to the ground."

"Ya." Agreed Vius. "That was a little cheeky of him."

"Agreed." Said Hiccup. There was a _you can't hit people_ rule, but Zyon was a little headstrong and didn't listen to others well. Well, nothing he could do about that.

"Can i use the the white and black saddle?" Asked Antius. "It fits Icewing's color better."

"Are you sure? I think white fits us." Responded Vius teasingly.

"Come on guys, we can solve this later." Said Hiccup. As fun as it was to watch them argue, he was a hungry.

"OK. let's go." And together they took of into the distance.

* * *

 **Hey, did you like it?**

 **In case you were confused, Heather does have a crush on Zyon, but I warned you. (It happened when Zyon rescued her from the Outcasts)**

 **And yes, I did just mix a Night Fury with a Sand Wraith to get a Sand fury. I thought it would be cool, so ya.**

 **If you liked it, follow/ favorite/ review.**


	4. A hint and a clue

**Wow. This story is going great. I hope it is...**

 **And if you didn't recheck chap 1, this has hiccstrid.**

 **And for all of _those_ people, i'm not copying. The Wizard Rider allowed me to use ideas, but i think this will be different. hopefully.**

 **(I'm looking at you people.)**

* * *

Astrid woke up, drenched in sweat. She had had that dream of Hiccup again. Why did he have to come back in her dreams? Three years ago he had stolen Astrid's fame. Now he was in her dreams. She needed to walk it all off. The armory. Gobber was her go-to person if she needed to talk to someone. Plus, her axe had taken a beating. It needed to be fixed.

She walked to the forge, enjoying the cool morning air. She could hear Gobber singing. Astrid decided to listen for a bit.

"Oh, I've got my axe and I've got mace. And I love my wife with the ugly face. I'm a viking through and through." Each note was perfectly timed with a hammer blow.

"Done yet?" Said Astrid, as if she had been standing there all day.

"Mildew, it you want me to fix that excuse of a knife-" He looked over to see that it was Astrid. "Oh. Sorry lass. Didn't see you there. Did you need something?"

Being the blacksmith was arguably the toughest job on the island. Without him, Berk would be gone. Every weapon in the village was made by him. Astrid remembered Hiccup, how he was the one who used to help Gobber. He was determined to do something good. Now he was gone. Oh Thor, she was doing it again! Maybe she should talk to Gobber, that might help. But she was not telling about her dreams. That would be very bad for her reputation, people thinking she had feelings for the village outcast.

"I was wondering if you could sharpen my axe, it's a little dull from pounding a gronckle during the raids."

"OK. Another weapon to add to the list." Gobber continued his rhythmic hammering.

"And could you tell me a bit about Hiccup?"

Gobber's lips sealed, his hammer blow missed, denting the sword's metal. Astrid had forgot how much Hiccup meant to Gobber. He was the son Gobber never had. He looked over at her, a curious look in his eye. "What? I don't know why you want to know anything lass. He's dead. He was a little headstrong and determined. Remember when he claimed to have killed a Night Fury? Boy, that was the happiest anyone's ever seen him. He was the best Blacksmith anyone had ever seen. He might have outranked me one day, if he were still alive."

Astri stared at the blacksmith, fumbling for words. "I... I want to know..." Astrid paused to pick out her words carefully. "I want to know more, about Hiccup. Please." Gobber looked at her. Please? Astrid couldn't remember the last time she had said please. It seemed, unnatural. No one on the island used the word please often.

"Come on lass." Said Gobber. "If you want to know about the lad, this is the place." He lead her to the room in the back that Hiccup had used for his personal use only.

"His room at the chief's house won't tell you much, but this will. I have a lot to do. So try not to mess stuff up, but feel free to explore. Remember, he was weak in body, strong in mind." Gobber closed the door behind him, leaving Astrid alone with her thoughts.

She quietly roamed the room, looking for clues on his death, or maybe how he got so good. either one would be okay.

She looked at his desk. Upon the wall was drawings for things that Hiccup could only wish for. Advanced catapults and ballistas, and weapons that could only be true in dreams. A flaming sword? Impressive, but no metal could make such a weapon. And what would fuel the flame? She saw the design of a round and thick shield with a small crossbow and tiny bolas. She had one last look at the drawings and saw a "prosthetic tailfin". He sure had quit the mind. She also found drawing of dragons, but not as she had seen them. They seemed... kind. She looked at his own self-portrait. So this was what he did in his free time. Draw, build, and dream. She saw something else. His journal.

 _Should I read it?_ Astrid wondered to herself. _He's dead, he won't know._ Astrid looked inside his journal. What she saw was very sad. He had wrote things like: _They hate me... Does anyone take me seriously... My own father won't pay attention to me..._ The comments went on and on. So this is what he felt like. He seemed so... depressed. She flipped to the last page. And there were three words. _I am..._ Astrid could read the rest, it was blurred with tears. She flipped a page back.

 _I can't do it. I can't kill the dragon._ Astrid was shocked at this. There hasn't been a viking that couldn't kill one in generations. _There's only one Thing i can do. Leave. My training, I shouldn't have used it in the arena. It's only made it worse._

So he was training with someone! Well, it didn't say that he did, just that he trained. That could have meant anything. But he was planning to leave? Why? He was the star of the village? She closed the book and walked outside. Gobber was sharpening Astrid's axe.

"How was he? Hiccup, what did you think?"

He was... Amazing. I know what you meant. He was very intelligent. I could tell from his drawings."

"That he was." Gobber stopped sharpening the axe. "Such a shame he's dead. He would have made such a fine viking."

"Hey, um. Gobber?" Astrid paused. "Can I take his Journal with me? He was so interesting."

"What?" Gobber scraped his hand. "Why do you want it?"

"He was interesting."

"You're lying. I can tell."

"Fine. In all honesty, I've..." Astrid tried not to sound stupid. "I've been dreaming."

"Explain."

"Well... It was like this," Astrid explained her whole dream to Gobber. She told him that she believed the dragon in her dream was a Night Fury. But didn't tell of the drawing in his journal.

"Hmp. Dreams, weird things they are. I suggest you don't tell anyone. Astrid nodded, she understood. It would be weird to have people think that you had feelings for someone because you dreamed of them.

"Thanks." Astrid walked off. Thanks? Had she really said that? she walked straight to her house, but Snotlout was there, great.

"Hey babe."

"Get out of my way."

"You don't talk like that to your future chief. Is that a journal?" He grabbed it out of her hands.

Astrid was having just about enough of this. She ducked down and swung her right leg at Snotlout's feet, sweeping him off his feet. Knocking him right down to the ground. That was fun. She took the journal before he could read it.

"What? got some notes about my awesomeness?"

"NO! Shut up and get away from me!"

"OK, OK."

Astrid ran inside and sat down, glad he was away. She looked at the journal. She flipped trough the pages, reading anything interesting. She found the drawing for the tailfin again. She looked at another page. There was a drawing of another dragon. She knew what they looked like, but she didn't know this one. Was it the Night Fury from her dream? The left tailfin was smudged out. Had he encountered a Night Fury? She remembered when they were facing a Nadder, Hiccup had been asking question about Night Furies.

"Hiccup? What happened to you? Where were you going to go? Where are you?

* * *

 **Like it? She's trying to put the puzzle pieces together, But where's all the fun if she had?**

 **Now it's Hiccup's turn for some dreams.**

 ***evil laughter***

 **What? Was i saying something?**


	5. A memory of home

**34 followers and 23 favorites! Thank you guys so much!**

 **I just realized, i messed up a few things in the first chapter. I said he left hiccup a copy but also said it was the real one on in chap 4. NO!**

 ***Cries until computer shorts out* (Static)**

 **OK, I think I'm good.**

 **Just so you people know, Antius has a very dark past. *Shivers***

 **Now it's Hiccup turn for some fun...**  
 **Oh, and this will turn into a watching the movie for a bit in this chap. If you don't like that then go to the lower part of the chapter and wait till the next chapter. sorry, but this is needed.**

* * *

Zyon was very rough on the drills today. Especially for Hiccup, Vius, and Antius. He was critical on everything. He always let Heather off easy, much to her disappointment. What was worse was that after a failed exercise, he decided to try a base defense/attack with him defending with a new toy, a ballista. They were trying to capture the base, without their dragons. But Zyon and the defenders got to use _their_ dragons, which made some sense, but not much. good thing the ballista wasn't armed to kill, just hurt. A lot. Hiccup, Heather, Vius, and Antius were trying to attack. Hiccup was about to get past the first defenses.

"Hey, Hiccup! Heads up!" Hiccup looked over to see Zyon and his new toy. "Or down!"

Hiccup ducted to avoid the ballista bolts. He was cornered. One thing left, run. As soon as he had to reload, Hiccup ran. He hid behind an outcrop of rocks.

"Hiccup! Over here!" He looked over to see Heather behind a tree. Good, now he had a better chance.

"Heather, go left. I'll cut right."

"Got it."

They ran. Hiccup would have gotten shot but Heather was in Zyon's way. He wouldn't shoot Heather and Hiccup knew it. He hid behind a tree, ready to move on. He saw a big hole in the ground, big enough to hide in. He decided to risk it, and ran. But as soon as he ran he looked right he looked. And there was Zyon aiming a loaded ballista at him. He fired.

Hiccup tried to duck, but it was too late. The bolt zoomed at him and hit, and his mind went blank.

* * *

"AHH!" Hiccup jumped up. Where was he? His head was throbbing as if Thor had personally hit him on the head. Hiccup looked around. This wasn't his room at his hideout near the rider's island. Where was he? He was... at Berk!?

 _I must be dreaming, but it seems so real._ Thought Hiccup. It was eerily quiet. He stepped outside, and fell backwards. He was in the middle of a raid! But what was even weirder was that he saw... himself? His fifteen year old wimpy self. He followed himself through the village, right to the forge. He could hear the fifteen year version of himself think.

 _The meat-head with attitude and_ _interchangeable hand is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well,_ littler. Who said that?

Hiccup had forgotten about this, the thrill. Hiccup watched as multiple dragons continued to burn down the village. Setting houses on fire and stealing food made him wince, knowing that many others were better than this.

 _Old village, lot and lots of new houses._ Wait? Why was he here? Why was he dreaming of Berk? He had to wake up. But how?

 _Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and... Astrid._ Hiccup looked over and saw the dumb look on his face. Oh Thor, he couldn't believe that he use to have a crush on Astrid Hofferson. And that dramatic walk of theirs was total overkill. He watched as he argued with Gobber, he could hardly believe he could barely lift up that sword. Sure, his current one was gronckle iron, but still. They way he dropped it onto to grinding stone was... it made Hiccup sad to see what he really looked like to others.

 _One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon, is everything around here._ Was he seriously narrating himself? Hiccup laughed. The stream of thoughts continued. _A Nadderhead, is sure to get me at LEAST noticed. Gronckles are tough, taking down one of those will definitely get me a girlfriend. Zippleback. Exotic. Two heads, twice the statis._ Hiccup just realized something, a ballista is more accurate. Why a catapult? It was effective, but less than a ballista had been in the past. _And then there's the M_ _onstrous Nightmare, only the best vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire._

 _But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one's ever seen. We call it the..._

"Night Fury!" said a viking.

"Get down!" said another.

The Night Fury, later to be Toothless, hit. Hiccup could remember his every thought at that area in time. _This thing never shows itself, never steals food, and never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury, that's why I'm going to be the first._ The very thought sickened Hiccup. He had promised to never kill on unless needed, but this was far worse. Hiccup followed the fifteen year old right ot the spot where he had set up his cannon. He took aim, and Hiccup jumped to stop him, but went _through_ him. No. he was going to have to watch this. The cannon fired, and the boy was sent flying back. The happy look on his face... it pained him to the core, knowing what that had caused.

"Yes! Yes I hit it! Did anybody see that?" The Monstrous Nightmare came up behind him, crushing the cannon. Hiccup wasn't paying attention, and found himself face-to-face with a dragon. Hit fired. His vision blurred and he was covered in a blinding light.

 _"Our parent's war is about to become our's. Figure out witch side you're on."_ Hiccup could hear Astrid's voice but he still couldn't see anything.

"I have." Yelled Hiccup in reply. "The right side!"

 _"I've never seen anyone screw up that bad."_ taunted Snotlout. The twins snickered in the background.

" _You're not a viking... you're not my son."_ These were the words that hit him hard.

"Hiccup." said a softer, kinder voice. It sounded like Astrid's, but very different. "Come back. We need you."

* * *

Hiccup gasped. What a dream! Was he still in his room in the hideout? Yes.

"Oh, He's awake." Hiccup looked over to see Antius and Vius. "You've been in a coma for a day. The last time that happened was when you took on a Catastrophic Quaken."

"You sound like you _wanted_ me to be dead."

"Well..." interrupted Vius. "I was thinking about taking your flaming sword."

"Really?" Asked Antius.

"Um, guys? were we going to do something before I was shot in the head? And how did i get a coma like that?"

"How should I know?" said Antius.

"I mean are we going to do that dual?"

"Oh... that"

"Come on. There's no point." Interjected Vius. "You know I'll win."

"We'll see about that!" Said Hiccup and Antius in unison.

* * *

"That was sooo close." Moaned Vius. He had lost because he was best at one-to-one. Both Hiccup and Antius were better at group battles.

"Says the loser." taunted Antius.

"You cheated. You're not supposed to team up on me!"

"OK. Well now you have to organize the armory."

"Not fair. Come on, I want to polish my saddle."

"Right..."

The friends walked off laughing, having the most fun they've had in weeks.

* * *

 **So? cool?**

 **In case you are wondering where their dragons were, they were asleep.**


	6. New home, new friends

**This is a crazy amount of follower and favorites! *face-plants into computer***

 **Hopefully chapters will get a little longer, but updates may get slower by a little bit. Sorry.**

 ** _The Wizard Rider_ was the co-writer. Thank you very much** **.**

 ** _Iviidiis_ : I know what I'm doing. Piece of cake.**

 ** _Rosie67_ : Yes i have read the Inheritance cycle**

 **The Wizard Rider: SO SORRY THIS SHOULD BE FIXED!**

 **Reviews are very helpful to this. They help me know what you think. Not "good job" but questions/ suggestions that you have. Or am I THIS good?**

 **And no, Vius and Antius's names are just a coincidence. I had no control over The Wizard Rider's OC. You will get a short glimpse into Antius's past. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! This will be slightly overlapping chapter 1. And yes, I am doing Hiccup twice in a row because I don't have much for Astrid to do now. So...**

* * *

 _"OK, we have REALLY got to get going, now!"_

 _What a great way to start the day, being chased by a flock of dragons._ _They flew away from the island, and into a storm. With dragons firing from right behind them, and a storm ahead, they decided to go on._

 _That was, before the two started spiraling. Hiccup looked back to see that they had set Toothless's prosthetic tail ablaze._

 _"Toothless!"_

 _The two fell towards a small, foggy island with smooth black pebbles covering the shore. The two crashed and Hiccup was tossed off Toothless, hurling him into a large rock. His vision blurred and the last thing he saw was what looked like a golden night fury defending Toothless and somehow beating back the wild dragons. He also saw a person quickly running over to him, his vision was too blurred to see his face in detail. Those were the last things he saw before he lost consciousness and blanked out._

* * *

 _"How long do you think he'll be asleep? His dragon is driving me nuts. He tried to blast down the door yesterday."_

 _"Are you being negative or sarcastic?"_

 _"I'm just saying, we should let the dragon in. It's very protective of the boy and it has a saddle, so we know it's not wild. And what if he's a rider?"_

 _"Fine. But only when he wakes up. I don't want his condition getting any worse."_

 _"Oh, so now you're_ _negative."_

 _"Really Vius?"_

 _"Um... You know he's waking up, right?"_

 _"Oh shoot!"_

 _Hiccup jumped up to the sound of an audible plasma blast and two arguing voices._

 _"Great job Antuis."_

 _Where was he? He noted that he wasn't wearing his shoes or tunic. He was in a bed, layered with a ton of blankets. A surprise that he wasn't crushed under the amount. He rubbed the sleep out his eyes and looked around. Sitting on a nightstand to his right were his shoes and tunic, recently washed. He saw his bag on the ground. Most of the objects were soaked. At lest his journal and drangs inside weren't ruined, he needed them in case he needed to build a new tail for Toothless. Where was that Night Fury anyways? Thank Thor he was alive! But how had he not notice the two people sitting by the door?_

 _One of them was sitting on a chair, so still he seemed frozen. He had short golden hair that was a little messy. His eyes were an amber color. He wore a black shirt with a golden tan dragon scale outfit over it. He had Auburn-hinted, silver armored cuffs on his arms from the wrist to the elbow. A long silver blade rested in a scabbard at his side. The other had a white shirt, pants, and cape with a hood. The armor plates on his arms and his legs were black. His hair was a very dark shade of brown with clumped bits of white in the front. His eyes were blue. His eye seemed... cold. He had two black blades, both shimmered with a dull radiance._ _They looked about his age. The one with the icey blue eyes looked up._

 _"About time. You've been asleep for almost three days now." Wow, someone sounded upset._

 _"Toothless!" Where was his freind? If these guys didn't like dragons, he was soooo dead. "My dragon, the Night Fury, do you know where he is?"_

 _"Calm down." Said the one with amber eyes. "He's outside, in the hangar. He's been waiting for you to wake up. I'm Vius, and this is Antius."_

 _"You don't have to introduce me." Said Antius. He seemed happy and yet... irritated. "You're in D_ _raco in Litore. It means 'Dragon Haven.'"_

 _"And why's that?" Did the two support dragons? Did they have their own? Were there more of them? A million questions bubbled up at once, begging for answers._

 _"Draco in Litore is a cluster of islands near the Defenders of the Wing. Any and all dragons can come here for shelter from hunters and other dragons. Full of rare species and a good few riders. It's as good as life gets." Said Vius, his voice so joyful._

 _"What?" Riders! He wasn't the only one! This could be the place where he could forget about Berk! "And who are the 'Defenders of the wing' guys?"_

 _"We've got a lot of explaining to do."_

 _"But... Where are you from Oh, and what's your name?" Asked Antius_

 _Hiccup bit his bottom lip. Should he tell them? They seemed nice, but would happen if he told them? 'Come on,' said a voice in his head. 'What harm could come of it?'_

 _"Berk. That's where I grew up. And my name's Hiccup."_

 _"Never been that far out. Why did you come here?"_

 _"That name is... exotic._ _" Said Vius. A teasing smile danced on his lips._

 _"What can you expect? They're Vikings. Gnomes and trolls. They think a bad name can scare those... fake things off." As if their oh so good attitudes didn't scare them off, thought Hiccup. "I came here to get away. The Night Fury, Toothless, I trained him in secret. After that... I just couldn't stay."_

 _"I know what you mean." Said Antius compassionately. "My life was good, Just me and my family lived in the mountains. That was until a wave of bad luck hit. My mother was killed in the night, my brother fell off a cliff, my sister... was attacked in a dragon raid. Only I escaped."_

 _"How?" How hid he survive a whole pact of dragons? "And how about your dad?"_

 _"I was somewhere else at the time. Very close, but somewhere else. Someone shouted at me to leave. So I did, but before I made my first move, I was stopped by a two Snow Furies," continued Antius, as if he had not heard the second question. Hiccup opened his mouth, but then shut it. He didn't want to pry. Besides, he had just met Antius, who Hiccup hoped was his future friend. He didn't want to lose this developing friendship._

 _"They happened to be the parents of my dragon, Icewing."_

 _"Icewing?" Hiccup asked eagerly. He was a rider, like him, maybe! But this 'Icewing's' parents that had cornered Antius. What would happen next?_

 _"They tried to kill me, I think. But then, Icewing grabbed me by the leg and took me away."_

 _"Soo..." Interrupted Hiccup. "What happened after that?"_

 _"We explored the world. Eventually we arrived at a dragon Sanctuary. We were forced to leave when it was destroyed by hunters. After we left we ended up here, in Draco in Litore."_

 _"Wow." That made Hiccup's life sound boring. "What of you Vius? How did you end up here?"_

 _"Well... I was born as a Defender of the Wing. I didn't like The fact that they_ _practically worshiped dragons. They looked up to something that sometimes looked at them as_ _equals_ _. One day I decided to wander out, and I found a dragon. It was a Sand Fury, and he was stuck in an old hunter trap. His wing was badly hurt. I cared for him for a few weeks and one day, we went for a 'small' adventure. It took three weeks. Mala wasn't to happy, but who is she to oppose a dragon?_

 _"Right," said Antius, fiddling with a ring Hiccup had never seen before. It was silver, and it was speckled with rust. It had a dragon on it, and a sword beginning to penetrate it through the heart. It was something that a Viking would have. What? But if Antius supported dragons, then why did he have a ring that showed dragon-killing. He looked at Hiccup and said,_

 _"I'm not telling the story. He is. So..."_

 _"Sorry," said Hiccup._

 _"OK. Anyways, Mala and I, had this big argument, and I refused to bow to her and pay the dragons respect, like... I didn't worship them. Dragons are beloved creatures no doubt, but I'm not going to bow down to it and call it a god and give offerings to it. Anyways, I was banished for a good while, and they took Shoreshot away. But then they released him. They wouldn't dare hurt him. I met up witth him on the shores and we flew off together and we discovered this place."_

 _"Sounds like what happened to me." Hiccup had shot down Toothless, helped him heal, and left his home island._

 _"Enough intros." said Vius. "Shoreshot! Icewing! You can let him in!"_

 _At his command, Toothless shot through the opened door. Two dragons followed him. One was a gold-ish sand color. It's body was like Toothless's, but the spins were sharper. It's eyes were a wonderful shade of amber. The dragon next to it was also similar to Toothless, but pure white. It's eyes contrasted to Antius's. The dragon's crystal blue eye were so... Soft? Kind? Hiccup couldn't find the word. While he was distracted toothless jumped up and began to lick Hiccup over and over._

 _"I don't think that will wash off. Come on, we want to show you around."_

* * *

That was the day that Hiccup had arrived at the best place in the world. That was the best memory of his life- the one that meant the world to him. When he woke up on that day, his life would never be that same. He would live on the one place where he could call home. And the people who saved him would become his best friends. They were like brothers. Helhiem wouldn't keep them apart. Vius, he was a nice person. And he would rarely ever take a mission seriously. Always a game. Antius was the opposite. He even took the easy missions seriously. But they were still friends.

After they had shown him around the main island, (which was far bigger than Berk) they ended it by flying high over Draco in Litore. Fun times, fun times. The races and duels they had were so much fun. And that hadn't changed after three years, and it never will. Among the riders he was Hiccup. But others, like the outcasts, feared him as the Night Rider. His friend usually stood back, cause you don't see a white dragon in a cloud, or a sand colored one on the beach.

They weren't his only friend, but he spent most of his time with them. Besides Heather, they were the only ones he had told about that he had come from Berk. But they knew the real reason he ended up in Draco in Litore. That formed a personal bond between them. Not even know-it-all Zyon knew. But that didn't mean he liked being around them and only them. The others- Milli, Heather, Ethan, Jacob, Zyon,- and a few others who lived on fellow islands. They were all different, they treated Hiccup better than he was on his best days on Berk.

 _I wonder how they're doing._ thought Hiccup. Wait, why was he thinking of Berk? The only thing they did was kill. They were probably doing it now. He could remember it all so vividly. He remembered Astrid asking him which side he was on. He had known since they day he met Toothless. _I am on the right side._ And this, Hiccup knew.

* * *

 **Isn't It good to look back at happy memories?**

 **someone once said: "Reviews are the lifeblood of my stories." I think. I might have gotten it wrong.**

 **Until next time, Astrid.**


	7. The Night Rider

**Guess what! I started making this doc before I even got to publish chapter 6. strange little me...**

 **For all you who are wondering, Astrid in trying to put the together the puzzle of Hiccup's so called "death"**

 **But Hiccup can't have all the fun... Can he...?**

 ***Evil laughter***

* * *

" _DIE_!"

Astrid hit the dragon with all her might, breaking the Nadder's horn off. She ducked to avoid the tail spikes. She stood right in front of the dragon's 'blind spot', just as Gobber had taught them three years before. She continued to strike the beast until it fell to the ground, permanently. Almost no one noticed her kill it because it was a very large dragon raid. There were just so many...

"Chief!" Astrid ran over to help Stoick with a Monstrous Nightmare. "There are to many. And this is... What? Raid number one million!? New record for raids in one night! AH!" She felt like throwing her axe again. She could easily see the huge amount damage. There were two dragons for every viking. Food was being taken, Houses were ablaze, and no one could do anything but try to stop the endless attacks.

Stoick hit the dragon on the head With his hammer, knocking it out cold. After it's flame died out he looked back at Astrid. "Keep defending the food we saved for the freeze! We can't allow for it to be taken from us!" Stoick turned around to get to the catapults. She ran off in a different direction to help fight off a Zipple Back. Astrid could barely lift her axe, bags were under her eyes, and she had begun to trip over her own feet. She had spent the night reading Hiccup's journal. She was so... Astrid couldn't find the word for it.

 _HELLO!_ _Are you going to do something about the attacking dragons?_ She yelled at herself. She couldn't think about Hiccup AND defend the village. She went over to help the Anti-raid attempt. As soon as the morning sun came up the dragons fled back with much of the food needed for the freeze. Why didn't the beasts just hunt? She could see some vikings were so tired they were falling asleep. Snotlout was so exhausted he couldn't even realize his backside was on fire. The twins were to tired to disagree on anything. And fishlegs... he was just acting weird. But even if they were sore to the bone they had to help the village.

 _Hiccup, whether you're alive or not, I hope you know how much you could have helped us. We need you..._

She couldn't escape him. Hiccup was in all her dreams. He haunted her. The dreams when he would slowly change to the man with the mask. In the dreams where he walked to her and disapear.. His hand reached out and he changed. He became a masked man, and a black dragon circled overhead. She couldn't help but feel that it was all her fault that he had left. During a raid she could have sworn to have see three men, and one dragon circled each one, as if to defend them. One had two blades as black as night. Another had a long silver blade. And the masked man held... a flaming sword! She wasn't able to sleep after that.

She walked to get some food at the great hall. Raids started at night, so supper was skipped. Well, nothing she could do about it. Gobber was counting the casualties of the raids. And taking weapons to fix.

"Hello. Good job out there tonight." He turned to Astrid so no one would hear. "Do you still have the journal? I wouldn't be able to bare to have it destroyed."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't let a fly touch it." It was hidden in her pocket. She spent her free time reading it.

She grabbed a plate and walked up to find a place to sit. Hopefully away from Snotlout. He was more annoying than ever. Hiccup's death hadn't helped. Why couldn't he just leave her alone. He wasn't "awesome" or "Cool". He was annoying. She sat in between Tuffnut and Ruffnut. Not the wisest idea, but it was better than sitting next to Snoutlout.

"Good job defending the village against those odds." Said Gobber. "I'm proud."

"Especially of me." Proclaimed Snotlout.

"As I was saying..." Continued the blacksmith. "Astrid, great job dodging those Nadder spikes. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, quit fighting, and do something when there's a raid. Fishlegs, good job against the Gronckles. And Snotlout, watch you back."

"WHAT!"

"Good thing we still have talented vikings like You." He appeared happy, but Astrid could tell otherwise. Like Stoick, he was still disappointed about Hiccup. A lot of people were. In a few days would mark the day when he had gone.

"That was an unusually large raid." Said Fishlegs.

"But the great Snotlout kicks but!" Boasted Snotlout.

"Riiiiiight..."

"You know what? There is a story of a place, a group of islands, where they don't kill dragons. If anything they respect them as equals."

"What! That's not right! Those people AND their dragons are corrupt. CORRUPT AND EVIL! THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE!"

"There is a story." Whispered Gobber. "Of men who _ride_ dragons."

Astrid started to pay attention, as did everyone else. Why would people ride dragons? Dragons could only destroy, it was the only thing they knew. And _respect_ them? These people must be crazy.

"Some traders came by and told us the story. Johann claimed to have sold them some items, but refuses to say what. He said that far, far, away, there is a group of islands. There lives the Night Rider. He is a man that he... he rides..." Gobber couldn't seem to say it. "That he rides a Night Fury. The man wields a flaming blade. No one has ever seen his face. He has two allies, both ride dragons that look similar to it, but different colors. They are said to be an unstoppable force. They ride the wind so fast that are said to be able outrun the gods. They are some of the best swordsmen in the Archipelago. Some believe that he is the servant of the gods. He carries dragons to places where they can do no harm. Others think he serves Loki, and relays information to him about us. Others think that he pulls all nearby souls into Helheim. That was all a little to far in my opinion. The Night Rider wears pure black armor. Some other traders claimed they can destroy entire villages in one night. They probably were exaggerating on that one.

"AH! LOKI THE GOD OF MISCHIEF! WE LIVE FOR THAT GUY!" Declared Tuffnut.

"Right back at you bro." Said Ruffnut.

"I hope that guy isn't real." Whimpered Fishlegs. "Please tell me the Night Rider is fake."

"I'm not sure." Responded Gobber. "Stoick doesn't think so. He said he rather clean Mildew's boots. But, as I said before, I don't know. You should have seen Johann, he seemed... terrified, in some way. He said it was true over and over again."

 _The Night Rider..._ Could he be connected to Hiccup's disappearance? And why did Hiccup keep returning in her dreams to become the strange man? And how in the nine worlds did she know what he looked like?

That's it! He's evil! I know it!" Shouted Snotlout. "He rides a freaking Night Fury! A NIGHT FURY! If that's not evil, I don't know what is. I like to see him try to destroy our village."

Everyone seemed to agree, a first for Snotlout.

"Um... Astrid?" said Fishlegs. "What do you think of this 'legend'"

Oh, Astrid had to say something without giving away the fact about her dreams, the journal, or her "investigation" of Hiccup. That was probably for the best...

"Well... being a servant of the gods does seem a bit far-fetched. If he is, I want to know whose side he's on. But if he is just a normal human in this world, why in the nine realms would the rider and his allies ride dragons? They do nothing but destroy."

Her statement made sense to everyone else.

"If I see the Night Rider, and I don't care if it's the end of the world, I WILL CUT HIM INTO A THOUSAND PIECES!" Snotlout finished by bringing his blade down on the table, but everyone wanted to keep their fingers so they all stepped back.

Astrid's head wandered away from their conversation. Who really was the Night Rider? Did he have anything to do with Hiccup? He mentioned someone in his journal. Was he the one who had "trained" Hiccup? Did he kill him, or maybe he took Hiccup away? Why was it that in every dream Hiccup and this man appeared? The rider being a servant of the gods seemed very unlikely. _Hello? What are you doing._ Astrid scolded herself. _He's been dead for three years! What good will that do?!_ Occupied in her thoughts, she blankly stared into open space, unaware everyone was staring right at her.

"Hello? um... Astrid?" Tuffnut waved his hand in front of her blank face. "Do you want to talk about this weirdo rider?"

"Sorry, what?" Astrid had forgot that she was even there. "Oh ya, the rider."

"He is probably corrupt."

"No." argued Ruffnut "He's evil."

"Corrupt."

"Totally evil."

"You two mutton-heads are stupid." Teased Snotlout "He's BOTH!"

"Oh..." said the twins together.

"Would you stop trying to let the world know of your conversation!" Astrid yelled. They were SO annoying!

"We were taking about The Night Rider or what?" Interrupted Fishlegs.

"I don't think he's real."

Fishlegs shoulders slumped in relief. "Good."

"What? Is Fishface scared of a MYTH?" Snotlout taunted. "Why does he scare you and not the mighty Snotlout?"

Astrid really felt the need to punch his face off the map. Why was he so self-centered all the time? He would never be a good chief.

"Come on everyone." said Gobber. "Tomorrow we will have to help clean up the village." The group trudged back to the great hall's doors, everyone except Astrid. Gobber looked at her. "So? learn anything useful?"

"Maybe." Astrid explained what she thought about the rider. She wasn't going to tell him anything about his journal, she wasn't sure how to explain to Gobber. If he saw everything that was in the book his heart might break after reading the comments Hiccup had made about himself. Astrid was confident she could get it herself. The message that lead Astrid to believe he was planning to leave Berk were confuse them, and Stoick wouldn't believe her. "Gobber, I think... I think that Hiccup death is related to the Night Rider in some way. If so, I will hunt him down until-"

"Slow down lass, if the rider DID kill Hiccup, you wouldn't be the only one seeking revenge. Think about Stoick. As the chief he has has the authority to say you can't.

"Oh, I guess Stoick would..."

"Exactly. He wouldn't care if the gods stood in his way. You know him. And didn't you hear what I said before? The traders seemed terrified. If you had seen them you would have belied them, unless you're Stoick. And he could only be a myth, a legend, a story.

"Do you not care about what happened to Hiccup?" The words seemed to hit him hard.

"Yes. Believe me, I do. But that could be a suicide mission. You were chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. We can't loose you."

"The reason I killed it was because Hiccup wasn't there. He would have killed it. And he should have." Astrid didn't think before she spoke. But She wasn't the one to kill it, that was for Hiccup and Hiccup only. Astrid regretted that she had been so jealous. He had deserved to kill it, not her.

"well, even if it is morning, you might need to get some sleep. And I need to fix more weapons."

"OK." Astrid walked out through the great hall's doors to her house. Stoick would be sad because in a few days would mark the day his son had died. Astrid was planning to investigate but she needed to sleep. She slowly walked through her door, and tired from the night before. The moment her head touched the the bead she was asleep before she knew it, unaware of the nightmare to come.

* * *

 **Next up, Astrid. Or maybe Hiccup. Who knows!**

 **Wow. Favorites and Following everywhere! THANK YOU SO MUCH! 10 EMAILS IN ONE NIGHT!**


	8. Strange findings

**I've made up mind, This is going to be Astrid's chap. This may/may not be longer ;)**

 **Credit to The Wizard Rider for a lot of help. Hiccup's first journal entry was made by him. This guy's amazing. do read his stories.**

 **IMPORTANT! When hiccup is called an "outcast" I don't mean like Alvin the bad guy. I mean he didn't fit into society.**

* * *

Astrid ran through the trees. She didn't know why, but she still ran. She was afraid, but of what she couldn't tell. Astrid was in the woods outside the village, and she was fifteen. The sun was warm but the air seemed frozen.

"Astrid..." Hiccup's voice echoed throughout the trees.

"Hello?" Astrid couldn't quite tell where his voice was coming from, but she followed it as best as she could. Astrid thought she could see him behind the trees, but he seemed to disappear when she was close.

"I'm sorry..." His voiced seemed pained, like he had done something terribly wrong. What did he mean? Sorry for what?

"What? What you sorry for?!" Astrid shouted into the trees. Astrid ran on, then stopped. She had arrived a cove, hidden from view by trees. A small lake reflected the sky. Then something strange caught her eye. It was Hiccup. fifteen years old. He was sitting against a large trees., his head hung in shame. She approached him carefully, and noticed a small tear rolling down his cheek. Something wasn't right. He stood up and looked at her. His eyes seemed pained, but confident.

"Astrid, I'm sorry... I can't stay." Astrid could only watch as he slowly backed away into a growing shadow. Two pale eyes looked at her with an evil look only dragon eyes had. She could see the outline of the beast, and it looked ready to ponce.

"Why? Why are you leaving!"

"This is your fault." Was he right? Had she caused this?

"Well, well well..." Astrid jumped around to see the Night Rider, barely standing a few feet away. Even though a mask hid his face his eyes held a piercing gaze. He slowly circled her. His flaming blade grazed the top of grass, burning it black.

"What... did.. you... do?" Astrid's voice contained so much hate she thought someone else had said it. "WHAT DID YOU DO!"

"Nothing. You are the reason he left. He had a choice, and he left."

"No... That's not true... You... you took him away!" It couldn't be her fault. Why would he leave? Everyone looked up to him after his sucsess. Everyone, except her. "What did I do?! Why would he leave!"

"He was an outcast! All he ever wanted was nothing more than respect. No one really liked him. They just wanted his secret. His training was secret and alone. You wanted to win, and he was guilty about his training. So he left."

"he had nothing to be guilty about..." Astrid stepped back, and tripped over a tree root. She fell, and didn't stop falling through an infinite abyss. Darkness engulfed her, and voices whispered from the shadows.

"Stay out of my way." She could hear herself yell at Hiccup all those years ago.

"Is this this some kind of a joke to you?" Astrid closed her eyes and covered her face, trying to stop the flood of guilt that assaulted her mind. A small tear rolled down her cheek. A sudden flash of light made her open her eyes. She was right where she had fallen, tears flowing from her eyes. Astrid looked up and saw the rider staring down at her.

"This is all your fault." He raised his blade and swung at her, closely followed by a cold darkness.

* * *

"Ah!" Astrid jumped out of bed. It was only a dream. That was the worst nightmare yet. Her pulse was racing, and she was drenched in sweat. Why did he keep torturing her in her dreams? Astrid stood up. She needed to do something to keep him off her mind. She walked to the village, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She was still going to complete her investigation, no matter what it took.

Astrid rummaged through Hiccup's papers and journals again, with utter desperation. She was so tired, until she noticed something tucked inside the gap of one of the journal's covers. It was... a piece of paper?! With nimble fingers and after two attempts, she pulled out a folded square of paper. It looked very old, as if it hadn't been touched since... years ago. Astrid carefully unfolded the sheet of paper. The crease marks were very visible on the paper. It read:

 _"If anyone is reading this, I'm gone._  
 _Of course, you're probably a Viking - a dense one"_ (Astrid clenched her fists at this, but read on) _, "but smart enough to find out that I've hidden one of my special notes in a hidden place. If you found it by coincidence or something, well done._  
 _'Course, you know I'm Hiccup. Hiccup the Useless. Hiccup the Runt. Hiccup, Chief's Disappointment. I bet you don't even care what happened to me. At this point you probably think I'm dead. I'm far from it._  
 _Well, I'm leaving. Leaving Berk. There's no use staying here. I've left some clues, just in case, but... I guess this letter won't be found anyways. But if the reader's found these clues, well done again. I'll tell you why I've left._  
 _Abuse and hurt, chief's disappointment. That's why I left. I don't care about Berk anymore. Why should I? They never cared about me, not even my father. I guess they would have been better off without me.  
Besides, I've found a Night Fury called Toothless. He was hurt, and couldn't fly without help. And there was his rider, standing right there in front of him. Tomorrow, I'm 'supposed' to kill a Monstrous Nightmare. I had only cheated to reach the top. But I was happy when I beat Astrid for once, and Snotlout. I've now earned my dad's respect. All I had ever wanted was right before me._  
 _But then I realized - I was betraying Toothless. The Vikings only liked me because I had managed to have some 'power over the beasts.' They liked that, not me as a person._  
 _I'm leaving Berk. I'm going. Goodbye. I'm where my skills are needed. Tell Gobber goodbye. I suppose it won't hurt to say goodbye to my dad as well.  
And tell Astrid that I am so sorry for cheating._  
 _Signing out, forever.  
_ _H.H.H. III_

Astrid couldn't believe what she was reading. He... befriended a Night Fury! Did this make him the Night Rider? No, he said the beast's rider standing right in front in front of it. So... He had been betraying the village the whole time! _Better not tell Stoick, He would go ballistic._ He would never accept the fact that he had trained with a Night Fury. How could he stand next to it and live? This was worse than her nightmares. He had always wanted to kill a dragon so bad. But when he had a chance he didn't? Maybe there was something else. She looked on the back side of the page. There was more writing on the page. She hoped it had better news.

 _"If you're reading this, first read the other side. Then read this" (_ Hiccup had such a weird sense of humor.)  
 _"These Documents are hopefully the last thing you will see of me. Bet you might be happy at that. This is mostly how I left. Now, Sense I am not here, I have stored some of my knowledge here. Not all or Berk might get an edge against the dragons._ (What! Thought Astrid. He had chosen a side. But with a dragon?) _  
The Night fury. Toothless. His teeth are retractable and he is a very smart creature. You might disagree but at least now a Night Fury won't blow up the village. You may have found the drawing of him in my book. Dragons don't scare me. Not like they used to. I can find more secrets than Berk ever would. I have discovered that the are very fond of a grass called dragon nip. Some enjoy being scratched under the chin and around the neck.  
I was trained in a cove near Raven Point. It's very peaceful and is a great place to train alone.  
Have you ever noticed that the dragons never really go for the kill in the ring? I asked Gobber, and the last dragon to go for the kill had been killed for murdering a viking in training. I used what knowledge I had learned to win. When I 'fought' dragons, I simply used my secrets. But when it was time to go, dragon and human will fly together into the distance. So goodbye Berk, forever. Those were my only secrets I will share. I wish I could just end the war, But Berk would never accept me after that. Dragons might accept me for who I am. Berk won't._ _I'm sorry, But this is the only way._ _  
_ _H.H.H. III_

What was this? He was a traitor? Why would he ever leave Berk? It was his home. But... He said Dragons respected him for who he was, and Berk never did that. Was that the only reason he left? Was It really her fault. It was to much to take in. Astrid needed to clear her head. She walked out of the forge and almost ran into Gobber.

"Oh, hey Astrid. What are you doing up this early?"

"Um..." It was probably a good idea NOT to tell about the note. "I was-" She began, but was interrupted by the blacksmith.

"Oh... I see. You were looking in Hiccup's room. Find anything strange?"

"No. Not really." Astrid lied. What should she do now? She now held some of his biggest secrets. Should she use them? _No. Astrid. You know those ideas are bad._ She thought to herself. Then, It hit her. The cove that he talked about in the note. She should be able to get some answers there. If only she knew where it was.

"Hey babe. Looking for me." Oh great, Snotlout. She didn't have time for this.

"Stay out of my way Snotlout. I have better things to do than talk to you."

"Oh... feisty. I like woman like that." Astrid tried to stop her fist, but it was to late. She punched him square in the face.

"I said leave me alone."

Snotlout could barely stand straight. "Mommy, Astrid punched-" was all that he could get out before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"I warned you." Now to get to the cove. The note mentioned it was near Raven point. Now to figure out where that was... Well, she'll just have to improvise. But what would she find? It's been three years since he left. So unless he carved a drawing, she might not find much. Something is better than nothing. _Time to go._ thought Astrid. _Before Snothead wakes up._

* * *

"Where is it!" She had spent an hour looking for the cove. Maybe he wasn't serious. No. that wasn't him. It was here somewhere, Astrid could feel it. She turned around to look behind her, by fell. She hit the ground, no... Water. Freezing cold water. She sank like like a stone to the bottom. Her feet hit the bottom and she kicked as hard as she could, desperately trying to get the air she her lungs were screaming for. She surfaced to the top of the pond and swam to the shore. She looked around and realized she was in the cove. She looked at the place. _So this is it._ This was where he had been trained. Astrid then noticed an old shield on the ground. The wood was decayed and the metal had been rusted. She saw and old knife in the water. Hiccup used one of those before Berk's training. But what She was really interested in was the scales. There were some black scales on the ground. No dragons had black scales except the Night Fury.

On one of the rock was was a drawing. It had been protected from the elements by a slight overhang in the cliff. It looked like it was blasted into the stone. It was a rough sketch of a night fury. But it had no hostile look to it, no scowl, it's head tilted, looking like a curious animal. Whet had made Hiccup change his mind about these beasts? They could only destroy.

"Where are you Hiccup?"

* * *

 **I know, Bit of a cliff hanger.**

 **This chapter was mostly done in one day. YES!**

 **If you read it all, I said that Toothless's rider was in front of him. I meant right in front of Toothless, and the rider was Hiccup. So Astrid still thinks they are different people. *Evil laughing***

 **Hiccup's having a ROAD TRIP! Well, they're flying there so... Not a road trip?**


	9. Should I go

**Hiccup's in for a blast. Well, at least Berk is.**

 **I said Antius had a very dark past, well _The Wizard Rider_ has convinced me to make it even darker...  
** **If you are wondering if Hiccup has two feet or not, you can decide. I've never really** **paid attention to it.**

 **Sand wraiths are basically the same thing as the Sand fury**

 **Hopefully I can evolve Zyon from jerk to less of a jerk.**

 **SEMI-IMPORTANT! When I say "Fury breed" I'm referring to a sub-category of dragons that all look very similar.**  
 **(Sort of like the night fury and Sand wraith)  
Sand Wraiths were originally called a Sand Fury.**

 **Sorry for the wait. I've been busy. hopefully this will make up for it.**

* * *

"Hiccup? Are you going to wake up?"

"Give him time. He still has to recover from getting shot. He needs rest."

"But that's not fun."

"You're best friend is the most tolerant dragon in the whole world and you are _this_ impatient?"

"I'ts half-past noon. Zyon doesn't sleep in this long."

"Ha, ha, ha..."

"Are you to done?" Asked Hiccup. They were so busy fighting they hadn't noticed him. He had managed to hear the whole conversation. Gods, they were loud. "I overslept, didn't I? I've got to stop doing that."

"I don't know why you keep blaming yourself." Sighed Vius. "It's not your fault you got shot with a ballista."

"Did you dream again?" Questioned Antius.

Yes, But it was just voices I couldn't understand." Hiccup lied. He _Had_ understood the voices, many were taunting him, but one shone through. It was Astrid, or so he thought. Her voice was whispering for him to come back. Hiccup shook off the thought. It was probably nothing, just a dream.

"Okay..." said Antius, clearly unconvinced. "But let's get off such matters. Guess who's coming to visit?!"

"Based off your voice and face i'm going to guess..." Hiccup thought hard. Antius loved rubbing defeat in his face. "Traders Johann?"

"Exactly. And I heard he's got some good things for sale."

"That's not it." Said Vius. "It's Madge. She heard of what happened and is coming to see us."

Antius seemed very surprised. And Hiccup was to. Madge Kennet was a bit of an independent person. She was a rouge most of the time. She went solo except when it was a major problem. She wasn't the strongest of the riders, but could for a battle plan no one could see coming. She thought she could do anything on her own, much like Zyon. Some said she would go on almost impossible missions just for fun.  
Madge had long ginger colored hair and amber eyes. And although she denied it, some said her eyes held a bit of red. It fitted her well, seeing that her dragon was a female Fire Fury named Magma. That Fury sub-species lava-colored scales were nearly immune to fire, and that species could even swim in lava for short periods. Sophie couldn't but that didn't matter to her. Her dragon's fire was explosive and hot. Not good at long range but packed a punch. She was one of the few dragons whose fire could break dragon proof metal. Physically they weren't the strongest but there scales and fire more than made up for that. It was the only one of the fury breeds that hated water.

"Madge! You didn't tell me she was coming." Yelped Antius.

"What? Scared of your g _irlfriend?_ " Taunted Vius.

"No! And she's not my girlfriend." Yelled Antius. Hiccup personally agreed with Vius, but didn't tell. While Antius did care for her, he didn't mind how brave she was when it came to outright crazy missions. Antius was naturally level-headed. But when she was around he acted... differently.

"Right..."

"Hello? Guys?" Interrupted Hiccup. They were SO oblivious at times. "Were we going to see Johann or what? And I wonder what he's brought this time around?"

"We've all been wondering that." They all jumped to see Madge standing behind them, her arms were crossed and a small smirk crossed her lips.

"Madge! Good to see you. How have you doing?" Said Antius, trying to hide how happy he was.

"I'm okay. When I heard of what happened and I can over as fast as I could."

"How did you know?" Asked Hiccup. She often never stayed in one place for long.

"Zyon sent a terror-mail."

"Who knew he had it in him?" Joked Vius. Everyone gave him a hard glance and he quieted. "I wonder what other surprise news we'll get?

"Nothing good." The four looked to their right to see Johann leaning against the wall like he had run all the way across the ocean.

"Johann? What are you doing here? Did something happen? You look terrible." Hiccup didn't care that he wasn't wearing his mask, it didn't matter much. Johann had seen his face but it didn't matter cause he still didn't know he was the heir to the throne of Berk. Not to mention he swore never to tell anyone.

"Oh no, I just got scared."

"By what?"

"I found it. Hiccup, I found it."

"Found what?"

"The nest. I found it!"

"Wh- what!" How had he found it! Hiccup didn't care to try to find it since it never bothered anyone near Draco in Litore. But that kind of information would be invaluable to Berk or a neighboring island..

"Did you tell anyone?" Asked Antius. His face showed somewhat of a mix between surprise and concerned.

"Oh no. I was so scared I sailed away as fast as I could. And I went to they only place I would trust the knowledge of what was in the nest with." Johann was scared to the core. The last time he was that frightened was when he had stumbled upon the Dragon Haven.

"Can you tell us?" Asked Vius. "But don't make it to long." At this the trader's face showed an expression that probably meant something along the lines of 'Really?'

"Well, if you insist." Said Johann as he began to tell the three riders.

"Well, I was just finishing some business with the berserkers and thought 'Well, maybe I should go to Berk, it's been a while.' So off I went in a straight line towards Berk, that was until I ran into an incredibly large storm in the middle of night. My ship was tossed and turned, but held firm. When it all ended I was ailing directly into the mist That supposedly hid the nest. I had heard what happened to the search parties, so I hid bellow the deck of my ship. I waited for what seemed like hours, and then my boat hit land. I peeked out, and saw it.  
A huge mountain. I somehow sneaked around it without being seen and made it to a small cave, to small for dragons. When I reached the end of the tunnel, that's where true horror settled in. I was in a large cavern, with dragons flying all around. A large smoky pit was in the center. Dragons were flying in, and dropping all their food in it. It made no sense at first but then something happened. A small Gronckle came forth, and dropped a tiny fish. No one could call it a meal. It began to fly away, and then, it happened. A massive gaping jaw came up, and ate it in one bite. It was a dragon I had never seen the like of before. It's six eyes looked in all directions, and it shot an inferno of fire into the sky. I was so afraid, I ran off as fast as I could. When I reached my ship I sailed away and came here."

"Wow" Said Vius. "I won't be sleeping for the next week."

"Can you at least try to be serious?" Asked Madge. "This is The biggest discovery in three years!"

"So is that the reason they were stealing food?" Wondered Hiccup. He had guessed they were only feeding their young and themselves, but that changes everything!

"Sooo..." Antius said, getting everyone's attention. "Are we going to keep this to ourselves, or what?"

"Well, if I may contribute something here." Said Johann quietly. "If this is the reason the war on dragons broke out, killing it should end it. Right?"

"No... That never would..."Said Vius. "Actually, that makes a lot of sense. If the war ended, Imagine what could happen! Who knows what kind of dragons are in her arsenal!"

"Now you sound like mad man." Said Antius and Madge together.

"Do not! With those dragons we could finally get a sharper edge on the dragon hunters. Although it may not be necessary to win. What do you think Hiccup?"

"Sor- sorry. what? I was thinking." _About Berk._ He added on a personal note. His whole life he had wanted to prove himself, and finding the nest would be HUGE. But that was now all behind him

"Should we tell the others?"

"Oh, Yes. Yes we should. We'll go to the the main island and sent terror-mail to tell the rest about this. Got that?"

"Got it."

"Okay. Go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

"Okay... Come on Johann." Johann Got on Shoreshot and they all flew away. Once they were gone, Hiccup picked up his bag and grabbed some stuff for a little adventure.

"Come on Bud, Let's go before they notice." Toothless only looked at him, as if to tell him that he can't leave his friends like he did Berk.

"I know, but this this could be the chance we've wanted to end this pointless war!" As much as he wanted to bring his friends, He didn't want to put them in the way of any kind of danger. The battle between dragons and vikings had lasted for over 300 years. This was a chance to stop the tower of casualties from becoming any taller.

As soon as he had collected anything Hiccup thought he would need for his journey we started writing a note explaining what he was doing and why.

 _To any dragon riders who may be reading this, this is Hiccup.  
I am returning to my home village to take care of some unfinished business.  
Tell Vius and Antius that I'm returning home for a while.  
Do not follow me unless I do not return._

 _Hiccup._

He finished the note and placed it on his nightstand. They would would easily find it there. Hiccup motioned for his dragon to follow him, and with a little shove and some words they walked out of Hiccup's hut as stealthy as possible.

"Going somewhere?" Hiccup Jumped around, expecting to see Vius or Antius. But when he looked back, it was Zyon and Saphira.

"Um... No."

"One, You're a bad liar. Two, I wanted to say I'm sorry for shooting you with a ballista." Zyon's eyes showed nothing but an authentic look that showed he really was sorry. "I'm sorry. I should have used the practice bolts."

"It's okay."

"No it's not. I was a jerk and I knew it." Hiccup personally felt bad for him. The way he was treating himself showed he was truly sorry. "And what are you doing out here? I couldn't help but eavesdrop when I was waiting for you to wake up cause I never got to say sorry."

"Oh... That. Um... Well, I was going on a flight."

"With _that_ much stuff? Unlikely." Zyon could really get the truth out of people.

"Fine. But, please don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"Okay. Well, The truth is I'm going back to my home village. I don't want anyone coming with because they have a bit of a grudge against dragons."

"Let me guess, they kill them?"

"Ya..."

"That's okay. Remember some of the others have even darker histories? When my village found out I had trained Saphira, I was an outcast and became scared for life" He rolled up his sleeve to show a three inch scar.

"That's why I left, so Toothless would be safe"

"Then why are you going back?" Zyon raised an eyebrow.

"If you _were_ eavesdropping than you would know that Johann found the nest, and the queen."

"What! Then why alone?"

"Everyone there has a bit of a... extreme hatred towards all dragons. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Is it just me or do you have obsession about that kind of thing? You NEVER want your teammates to get hurt."

"So? I'm still going, just don't tell any of the dragon riders."

"Fine. But if you come back you'll have to fix my sword."

"Don't count on it." Hiccup jumped on Toothless and they flew off, leaving Zyon behind.

 _This is for the best. I can't let them get hurt._ They were his friends, and he valued their lives. This was something he had to do. It wasn't about honor. It wasn't about proving himself to the village or his father. Those meant nothing to him. Well, almost. He wanted the village to stop killing, and a 300 year old war to come to an end. _I'm back, so you better be ready_

* * *

The Two flew on and on, and then they stopped at a small set of sea stacks. He looked back, and the island was now a tiny speck.

"Come on bud, let's go before they realize what's happening." The Night Fury flapped his wings and took to the sky. But then, three dragons dove down right in front of him. Vius, Antius, Madge.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" yelled Magde. "Why are you flying off?"

"How in the world did you know!"

"For having a Night Fury, that was really, really, slow." Said Vius in a flat voice. " We came back to check on you, and we found THIS!" He held up the note.

"Why are you going without us? We're friends ." Said Antius.

"All for one, and one for all. We're coming whether you want us to or not. And you can't talk us out of it."

"Okay. Fine. Well, looks like we're all going." A grin slid across his face. "Berk's in for a blast."

"So... Are we going or what!" Said Madge. "Let's go!"

"YA!" They all said in unison, and took off towards Berk.

* * *

 **So? This chapter was a couple hundred words longer.**

 **For once I'm happy that people are giving good reviews.**

 **I have no idea what I'm doing. YAY! No plan!**

 **Please review, the box is right there.**

 **l  
l**

v


	10. I'm Back, be ready

**Fear not! FOR I'M NOT DEAD! Yet... I had a complete burnout when the doc got deleted by mistake TWICE! How annoying can that be!?**

 **Oh no, here comes some of the fighting. Maybe. *Evil laughter***

 **OH! I've also got to show you the darkest part of Antius's past REAL soon. *More Laughter***

 **I'M AN IDIOT! I gave Madge 2 names in a chapter! Well, it's fixed now.**

 **And for you people who saw RTTE finale season, everything happened the same, but no Johann, not yet.**

 **I will change POV once from Hiccup to Astrid. Keep that in mind. IT'S IMPORTANT!**

* * *

"Okay guys. Be on your guard. We have no idea how much Berk's weapons have advanced." Whispered Hiccup. They had taken a day-long trip on dragon back to get to berk to end a war that needed to be stopped.

"If they have at all." Joked Vius.

"When do you take anything seriously? You didn't take the hunters with any kind of focus until you were in danger." Scolded Madge.

"Hello? We have a village to sneak into." said Antius. The village was now in sight. There were clear signs that a dragon raid had just attacked. They had agreed that Hiccup would go first because Night Furies are hard to see in the darkness of the night.

"Okay, I'm going. If something goes wrong you know what to do" Hiccup slightly doubted that he would need help, but just in case.

"This is why people know about you and not us. Because you always go in head first without us." Hiccup's only response to Vius was a laugh.

"And I'm the one with the more famous dragon."

"You mean the dragon with the bigger ego." Said Madge

"Hey! Not nice! And remember, stealth is important."

"When's it not?"

"Oh nevermind." After telling them to meet him at Ravin's point he flew toward the village and circled it once or twice. So this was Berk, after all these years. Hiccup could only stare.

 _'Which side are you on?'_ Hiccup felt the memories flash back to him. Memories of pain and anguish.

 _'Hey, useless Over here!'_ No! Not him...

 _'Ahahaha! What a pathetic, little, viking you are!'_ The twins... _'_

 _You need to stop all... this.' Well too bad Gobber, this is who I am._

 _'I'm sorry, but I can't been friends with you...'_ Fishlegs, the former friend that had left because of bullying.

 _'Son, you should be tougher.'_ The voice of his dad held no emotion, dark and cold.

"No no no.." Hiccup mumbled to himself. Noticing his rider's discomfort, Toothless let out a little croon to comfort his rider. Hiccup took a deep breath, pulled back to reality, and looked down at his best bud. "It's okay bud, I'm okay. Come on let's get back out of here and go go back to the cove near Raven's point." Hiccup closed his eyes and calmed down, ready to turn around. That was until he heard a person's voice.

"HELP!"

Hiccup turned his head to try to see who was in trouble. He didn't care if they killed dragons, or if they were from Berk, or whatever, they needed his help. Locating the source of the sound Hiccup looked down, and saw one of the last people he expected to see in trouble. His heart twisted in both shock and fear. It couldn't be...

 _Astrid._

* * *

Astrid leaned up against the remains of a burnt and beaten house. She had been fighting for the past few hours, and for once she felt as if all her fight had been completely drained from her. The dragons were attacking with an unusual amount of ferocity. They were taking food like it was nothing. But whether she was tired or not she had to help all she could. Spotting Stoick she half walked, half limped from a long scratch in her leg from a nadder.

"Chief! There's to many! What are we going to do!?"

"What we always do, keep on fighting." Came his only reply, throwing a bola at a flying nadder.

"We've been doing it for over 300 years now!" Seeing that this was his only answer, Astrid turned around to go help the village, but it all made her head spin.

 _To many dragons... To many dragons... To many... Dragons..._ Astrid's limbs felt week beneath her. Her vision grew hazy and her balance swayed. Without an ounce of strength left Astrid collapsed onto the ground from complete exhaustion. No! She had to help the village! Using her arm as a prop she tried to get back up, but only fall back down again. They were everywhere... _So many dragons... To many..._

 _GET UP!_ A Voice screamed in her head. You _CAN'T let this beat you!_ Astrid fought to get her legs to lift her up. She cringed at the pain seeping from her wound. The scratch may not have been deep, but the dragon's poison made the wound feel much worse than it really was. She managed to walk a few feet, but then doubled over onto her knees. She just couldn't take all the strain she was gone through. _Years of warrior training... For THIS!_ She tried to get up, but her limbs were in complete shutdown.

But the she heard something... Footsteps... LOUD footsteps. Astrid jerked her head to the right to see a Monstrous Nightmare charging at her. _Oh no._ It's large head collided with her tired body, flinging her off the ground and twenty feet back. Next time it got close enough it would kill her. But she couldn't DO anything. She was to exhausted, but she couldn't just lie there waiting for death.

"HELP!" The words escaped from her mouth before she could stop herself, and their went her honor, and probably her life. As the dragon rushed closer Astrid curled into a ball and put her hands up to protect herself. The creature's maw opened up, revealing sharp teeth and fire. But before it roast her one more sound was heard. The cry of the Night Fury.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!" The sound of the dragon got louder, but louder than normal. Astrid screwed her eyes shut, waiting.

 _It's coming straight at me. I'm going to die..._ It's screech filled her ears, and then the blast filled the air. But Astrid felt no pain. She felt the explosion, yes, but no pain. When she dared to open her eyes there it was, FACING the other dragon. And there was someone else as well. A man dresses in black armor and holding... a flaming sword!? He slowly forced it back, and with a movement of his sword, it flew away. The rider turned to her, his eyes gleamed behind the mask he wore. _The Night Rider._ That's who this man was! He knelt down to look straight into her own eyes. Astrid, too weak to do anything, lied there stairing back without a word. The dragon turned around to face her and growled. Astrid's heart suddenly pounded in fear. The unholy offspring of lightning and death was standing right in front of her. Her body instantly became paralyzed in fear. How was she not dead? Why did The Night Rider, the guy claimed to have destroyed the Outcasts, help her?

"What... Why...?" Was all Astrid's weak voice could manage to say.

The rider just kept silent and slowly turned around and backed away and sat back down on his dragon's saddle, the beast still growling. At this point at least one viking had noticed him walking away. They must've thought she'd been attacked by the Night Rider, for they redirected their attention from the dragons to the strange man in black armor, which, to be realistic, who wouldn't?

The villagers yelled and charged towards the man. But then, out of nowhere, three more dragon sounds were heard. They sounded like a Night Fury but each one was ever so slightly different. Three dragons were spotted flying down. One was white, one red, and one gold. They all landed near the Rider, taking up defencive positions. Each dragon rider held a slightly different, but unique, weapon. Astrid tried again to get up and, surprisingly, shakily got back up onto her feet.

"Hey babe." Snotlout! If he had seen her down like that she would never hear the end of it. "Did you see how I saved you from that guy? Doesn't your hero deserve some attention?" He said, showing off his 'big muscles'.

"Shut up Snotlout!"

"Okay, fine!"

Turning her attention back from Snotlout to the four dragon riders, and not everything Johann said was incorrect. They were REALLY good fighters. The Night Rider (or at least who she thought he was) brought up a silver shield and his flaming blade, ready to attack. He attacked like a viking, ruthless and strong, but maintained a quick fighting form. He could dodge and deliver attacks very well. The fire from his blade would lag behind, distracting the opponent and allowing him to deal out more blows. The others were also very good. Astrid watched on with curiosity.

The one girl of the group fought with an extreme push, rarely on the defense. Her blade was pitch black with red cracks that seemed to glow. She wasn't as strong as the villagers but her weapon made up for that. The cracks in her blade glowed and oozed out a glowing liquid. Astrid suspected it only did the same thing as the Night Rider, but was proven wrong. No matter what she hit, her blade _melted_ through all of the objects it sliced. sword: melted, shield: melted. Her attacks left all of her enemies completely defenseless. How it didn't melt itself was a miracle beyond her caught was stuck

The third man with the white clothes and black armor plates held two black blades. Astrid didn't see anything special about them them but they were still effective nonetheless. He would block and attack at the same time, and could take on multiple enemies at once. His fighting style was impressive and no one could land within an inch of him. his fighting style only became more and more fluent. He alternated the blade between a normal grip to a reverse-grip, nearly untouchable. Although she preferred an ax, Astrid envied the twin weapons.

The last one wore tan colored clothes trimmed with gold lacing. He had two weapons, a long, thin sword, and an elegant bow. He shot a few arrows with pinpoint accuracy, incapacitating many warriors. He drew his sword when they got close. The long, silver and gold blade through the air at lightning speed. He knocked one down, jumped back, and took another another out one at a time. His tactics were near flawless, exploiting every weakness that showed itself. The long blade held a short, thickened piece of metal that ran about one sixth of the way down the blade. It split down the middle into a V-shaped cross guard, changing his style unpredictably.

 _Wow. They ARE good._

"Hey Astrid, you're going to help or what?" someone yelled at her. Snapping out of her daze, she picked up her ax and ran towards the group. She swung her blade at the only girl on the group, careful not to hit the blade. Astrid picked up a spare shield up at threw it at the girl The shield was was simply knocked out of the way, but it was all that was needed to shove her to the ground. Astrid got away from the fray as fast as possible. they couldn't win like this, and the village was still being attacked by dragons. _Gobber has to have something for this._ Without another word Astrid ran off to the blacksmith.

"Gobber! I need some help with them!" She yelled at the top of her voice.

"I ain't got anything that could help lassie!" he said over the fire and the explosions.

"Didn't Hiccup make a ballista before the bola incident?" referring to when he claimed to have shot down a night fury, which according to his notes, he did.

"It's in the back, but it never worked!" but it was too late. Astrid had already ran in and grabbed it before Gobber could warn her.

 _I hope this works._ She thought subconsciously. Hiccup had never been known for success, but them again, he hadn't been known for anything but being weak. maybe, just maybe, it might work. she quickly found the device, coated in dust. Astrid grabbed it and ran back to the fight as fast as her weak leg would allow. she tried to set up the device when she got back to the fight. It took her a moment or two, she never understood anything he made. it was so alien to her. he wasn't really into their way of life.

As soon as they got into her sight she set up the device. a creak, a groan, and the ballista was set up properly. she set the old things sights on the man with the duel blades. she pulled back the string and pulled a small lever on it.

 _CRACK!_

The Ballista smashed itself, launching it's last bolt. it soared through the air, right on target. the man's eyes look up at the bolt, and the world slowed down. he was trying to bring up both his swords, but was to slow. but the bolt didn't hit him. the man in the tan armor had pushed him down to the ground. his blade was up and ready, pointed like a needle. the bolt hit it dead-on, and _split._ the bolt split in the middle, hitting two other vikings. the force caused him to stumble, but it was just enough. stoick threw him down to the ground, his body going limp. a screech was heard. all of the four dragons took to the sky, two of the three riders on their demon's backs. the golden dragon and the white shot one blast each. the blast spread some odd, clear liquid. anyone caught was stuck.

"GO!" The man with white armor yelled to his allies. they seemed reluctant but flew back towards the woods. the man was soon covered in vikings, restraining him.

"Take them to the great hall for questioning."

"What about the rest of them?" one of the villagers yelled.

"We'll deal with that. but the wounded and the village comes first, you all know your duties. and Astrid?"

"Yes chief?" she replied with slight fear, something she hadn't experienced in some time.

"Come with me and Gobber into the great hall to question them." he said, motioning his head to the two dragon riders.

"Yes sir." she replied and slowly walked towards the great hall, a new gleam in her eyes. _Time to get some answers._

* * *

"Hiccup! we have to go back for them!" Madge yelled.

"We will, I promise." Hiccup said, a dark gleam in his eyes. "Berk messed with the wrong dragon riders Madge, and it was a mistake, a huge one."

* * *

 **FINISHED!**

 **FINALLY!**


	11. Home bittersweet home

***Kicks down door* I'M BACK!**

 **HELP! SOS! I need some help. Comment your ideas of what should happen later in the story. This is getting hard, so whoever says the best idea in the views section gets a shoutout!**

 **most of my science is REAL! (Or should be)**

 **This should be _mostly_ astrid's Pov**

* * *

 _Time to get some answers._ astrid thought. With Stoick and Gobber dragging the 2 prisoners to the great hall for questioning. they might be useful for something, mostly information. namely: who they were, why they were here, and (on a personal level) what they knew about the night fury that took Hiccup. only one appeared to be conscious, the one with the white armor seemed awake, but the other seemed knocked out, but hopefully he would wake up.

"So what will we be trying to get out of them?" astrid asked the chief.

"Everything." was his only answer. _Well then, this'll be fun._ Eventually they made it past all the burning buildings to get to the great hall. they entered the slightly burned doors and tied the two down securely. Gobber took the men's swords and bow. If Astrid looked close, their faces were blank, with a hint of a smirk.

"Okay, this how it's going to go, we'll ask a question, and you _will_ answer.-" Said the chief. astrid thought she saw the man chuckle.

"Okay then, what's first? said the one clothed in black armor.

"-And if you don't answer, we will have to find... other methods. you got that?" continued the chief boldly.

"Did you just monologue? Or did you just not pay attention to what i just said?"

"..." the chief was silent for a moment, but then talked. " how did you-"

"make such amazing weapons!" interrupted Gobber. he was holding the man in tan colored armor's sword, eyes clouding with curiosity.

"Titanium-3 alloy, 5 times harder than your steel." the voice made Astrid jump, she thought he was unconscious. " It's the hardest metal I've encountered. the two other swords are a variant of some other alloys."

"I've got zero idea what that means."

"Gobber!" Stoick scolded the blacksmith. he turned back to the prisoners. "Who are you, and who do you serve?"

"Our names will mean nothing to you, and we serve no one but our cause."

"And what might that be?"

"You'll be skeptic no matter we say, so why ask?" Astrid mentally shook her head. they were impossibly annoying at this.

"Fine then, who is the Night Rider?" Astrid looked at the man in white clothes, he had spoken since his ally had started talking.

"This seems like a very one-sided conversation." he finally said. the comment seemed out of place, but it seemed to strike a cord with Stoick. his brow crunched a bit. the man took a breath and went on. "Can you not hear me?" the words slide on his tough, sweet as honey, and powerful as venom. the words seemed familiar, but forign.

"How do know him?" Stoick said in an almost hushed voice."How did you know Hiccup?"

"the question isn't how much we knew him, but how much you knew who he really was."

"He was my son." Stoick growled.

"That's _what_ he was, not _who_. That was his greatest question, until he washed up on our shores five years ago. He knew who he was and where he belonged, but this whole village didn't know a thing about him."

"He was from berk, and proud of it."

"Then why isn't he here? This _is_ his home, isn't it? But he knew he never belonged here. So found a better home."

"That's not true, your people took him." Astrid blurted. "His diary said that he left because he had no choice."

"He had no choice but to leave because he didn't want to stay. he hated being a viking."

"YOUR LYING!" yelled Stoick. He grabbed his ax swung it at their heads. But to astrid's surprise, they jumped out of their ropes. _They cut themselves loose!_

"What..." The pair charged past the enraged stoick, running right towards Gobber. Astrrid swung her ax at the two, but they merely dodged. Gobber swung too hard, getting his hammer stuck in some wood. one of them jumped off of a table, managing to land a solid kick on his face, sending the man scuttling back. Gobber went up for a second attack, only to remember the hammer was a prosthetic, and was still in the wall.

"Oh come on!" he yelled in frustration, only to receive a roundhouse kick a second later. focusing her attention back to the two men, astrid charged them. Her powerful, wide swings were not fast enough for her to hit them. One of them had managed to reach his weapons, and picked up the bow and sword. The other landed a good kick to astrid's knee, causing her to topple. _They are really adapt at fight vikings. we only fight dragons._ He quickly ran and grabbed the duel swords, preparing to make a mad dash to the exit. The other dragon rider was already past halfway there.

"Get them!" Stoick yelled, enraged. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him heft up his ax, and chuck it with all his might. Which, to anyone who had seen him in combat, was a lot. But this shot was off, just a bit. A dragon was an easy target, but a person? Not so much. The world proceaded to move in slow motion. Everything happened at once. The handle of Stoick's axe hit the dragon rider closest to Astrid, and he fell, sliding several feet. The other sent an arrow at Astrid, pinning her to the wall. Seeing the impossible odds, and his fallen ally, he turned and ran out of the great hall. Gobber picked up the limp form of the dragon rider, and turned back to the chief.

"What are we going to do chief? One of them got away!" This shouldn't have made her panic, but something told her she should. But another thought was nagging at the back of her head. _They knew him, they said they knew him._ If they knew where Hiccup was, they might be able to get him back. That would save Astrid from Snotlout.

"Follow him! He can't have gotten far!"the chief sent her a sharp look, and astrid bolted after where the dragon rider had run out.

"You can't escape me, I won't let you."

* * *

"Okay, what's the plan? We got four furious dragons, two dragon riders, and the element of surprise, what should we do?" A plan, they needed a plan. A good, solid plan. Unlike berk for the previous several hundred years, they had the bigger picture. They knew where they would be, a backup plan, the whole plan. Hiccup Had learned early on to _always_ have a plan B.

"We move in with Toothless, Shoreshot, and Magma. Icewing will watch from the sky. It's the snowy season, so there's a chance of of snow, Icewing's territory." Hiccup shifted through his memories of the village. "I know where the prison is, but it'll be guarded."

"Well, it's simple, we move in and break them out. This isn't Viggo we're talking about, it's Berk." Hiccup thought this was easy too, but he wanted to ensure nothing went wrong. He didn't want a repeat of the incident on outcast island.

"You seem confident. Or rushed. Either way, They will be trying to juggle between repairs, medical assistance, and the prisoners. The village will be very confused as to why, or how, we are able to ride dragons. Just calm down."

She seemed to calm down after that. "Okay, I'm good. So, they won't put more than ten guards, no more. If magma can cool down, she can change her color to black, shoreshot can sneak past." Icewing let out a growl. "Sorry, but we'll have to leave you behind. Watch from above, okay?" The Fury let out something resembling a sigh.

"Well. then in that case-" Hiccup was cut off by a loud *Snap!* of a twig. They both grabbed their weapons, ready for any intruder. 2 out of the 4 dragons charged up their shots. Luckily there was no intruder, just the normal, clumsy Vius. He fell down the side of the cove rather unceremoniously, landing in a jumble on his dragon.

"Ow..." He coughed out. "I'm fine... okay, that hurt. A lot."

"Vius!" Hiccup said, rushing over to his friend. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just 52 broken bones, nothing serious," Classic Vius, cracking jokes all day, everyday, when he felt like it. He was a real wild card.

"Vius, where's Antius?" Madge said, a cold stare in her eyes. _She's going to kill him..._ Hiccup thought to himself. Madge could be as scary as Astrid at times. _Astrid._ The memories of her scolding him in the arena were now very faint. The wisps of the shame that had occupied his past were now shining star in his past of who he was, a dragon trainer.

"He didn't make it out." Hiccup was torn from his recollections of the past. "On some level we knew only one of us would get out. He got captured, again." Madge was fuming.

"So you ran, and let him get caught, Really? Is that how it works now? The most intelligent person in the archipelago got scared and left his friend?"

"Would you rather me get captured?"

"If it meant Antius was still-"

"Both of you, stop it!" Hiccup said. "This isn't ideal, but we have to focus, Antius is stuck in the village and they'll be looking for us. I wouldn't put it past them to have sent someone to follow us."

"You're right. Sorry Vius."

"Hey, at least we're all alive"

"Alright then, We got a plan?"

"We should send a message back to base, tell them if we're not back in three days, send help."

"Hiccup, we need a dragon to send a message back to them."

"Gotcha there." Said Vius reaching into his bag. "He's here somewhere..." He pulled out a long, serpentine-like body. It coiled around his hand tightly It was a dragon, but not just any, one of the rarest to date. "Found him off the shores of the Deathsong's island. He's fast and he packs a punch." It's head looked like one of the Small Shadows, it had four legs and two wind behind the forelegs. it was sleeping in it's coil around his hand.

"Can he do it? Send the message?"

"Definitely, I think so, maybe, uhhh..."

"Okay, plan B."

"We don't have a terror so..." Hiccup trailed off there. He looked back at Vius, who was biting his lip. "You have a terror, don't you?" Vius heaved out a long sigh.

"Fine! I'll use my _extra_ rare terror to send a message,"

"Oh, grow up!"

"Alright, alright, calm down." Vius pulled out a piece of parchment and charcoal, and handed it to Madge. "You write it."

"Okay..." Madge started the message, quick and to the point, like most things she did. She whispered her note to herself on every other sentence _"Berk... Antius captured... help if not back... 2 days... And our names..."_ She folded up the paper and tied it to the terror. "done, we'll send it back and hope for the best." Antius shook his arm, and the small dragon took of into the sky.

"Well then, we should start on the pla-"

 _*SNAP*_ A branch fell down the side of the cove. Everyone pulled out their weapons, ready for a surprise.

* * *

 _Oh gods, I'm dead._ Astrid hadn't _meant_ to snap the branch, but yet it sill happened. The people in the cove below were tense, ready for anything. _I've got to move, They'll find me._ If she ran, they will know she was there, but she might be able to escape with the knowledge that they were in the cove at Raven Point. _Wait, Raven point, this is where hiccup learned about those beasts... The Night Rider took him, from Berk, from Stoick!_ Without thinking, Astrid ran as fast as she could. the Dragon Riders' heads snap up to her position. Astrid turned her head and kept running. She ran around the edge of the cove, ignoring the calls of the dragons behind her. _I'm making it, I think I can get-_ Her thoughts were interrupted by a purple blast hitting a tree. She was thrown back by the blast. The edge of the cove flew right under her feet, and she fell don, tumbling down in a mass of limbs. When her vision cleared up, she was looking at 4 dragons, and three humans, all looking very angry. Astrid was normally fearless, but seeing four dragons staring down at her could make even her shrivel in her skin. The Night Rider stepped forward. The eyes behind his mask haunting her.

"Hello Astrid."


	12. A new mission, old friends

**Well then, that escalated quickly.**

 **IMPORTANT! I'm making a major rewrite! This is now around 3 years after the first movie. it just makes everything easier.**

* * *

"Hello Astrid." Astrid's soul seemed to shiver inside of her. The most feared dragons on Berk were growling at her. Every instinct in her was saying something different. _Run... Fight... Wait... Run... Run... RUN!_ Her muscles tensed, trying to obey a command that was not made. "So, how's Stoick? Still instant that he can find the nest? " The voice coming from inside the mask sent shivers up her spine. Th dragon riders, they were a nightmare. "Or has he given up, like he gave up on his son?" Astrid froze. _Hiccup._ His voice had occupied her her mind more than when he was still around, when he was still alive. _What does he know?_

"Wh-who are you?" Astrid's voice betrayed her. she felt an uncontrollable feeling rise in her chest. Fear. Something that she had rarely felt. _Ever._ Fear was what got vikings killed, it had been what had brought shame to her family, it had no place in the real world.

"I am well aware you know who I am. Some call me the dragon master, others call me a demon. But personally, I like The Night Rider best. I can see I terrify you." Dragons Astrid could face, but this? there was something different. Something unnatural about how he stood, how he talked. His eyes held an un-viking-like glow.

"I fear no one." A lie, but it was the best she had. "You are a shadow."

"And what tells you this this? That I have found peace with dragons? That I now know how to end centuries of war? That I can do what Stoick could not? Dragons aren't monsters, only our perceptions of them are."

"They've killed hundreds of us!" Anger rose in Astrid's chest, her fists clenched. Her rage refused to be capped and bottled up. Her family name had been disgraced when a flightmare had frozen her family in fear. They had taken Hiccup, heir to Berk. And his mother! If that's not evil, then... Yeah, evil sounds about right.

"And you've killed thousands of them. It's a cycle. Death, war, revenge, revenge on your revenge. It stops only when you let go." His mask was close to her face, his eyes hiding a gleam. "Berk will not survive the war if it continues go on like this. The raids will raze it until there's nothing left to rebuild from but ashes." Astrid could feel her rage boil over. He _dared_ to question Berk's survival?! The dragons growled, but Astrid couldn't care less. They had hunted the village, killed people, and stolen for their own selfish survival!

"You are a monster!" Astrid swung her fist at his face as hard as she could. And he _caught_ it! His gloved fist gripped her. It almost hurt. It seemed effortless to him. The dragon's growls became more vicious. The adrenaline coursing though her had stopped, leaving her feeling weaker than she should have felt.

"If we wanted to we would have left you here unconscious. What makes you think we need you alive?" Said the only girl of the group. Her gaze could burn a hole through a viking as easily as fire through dry wood. "We will get our friend back with or with out you."

"Astrid, I'm only going to offer this once." The Night Rider's voice was hushed. "If you help us, you can end this war. You'll be a hero. You can be on the right side of history." _What's he doing?_ Astrid thought. Why would he- "You can finally put the war behind you. Helps us get our friend back, and we'll help you end this war." His hand reached out, he wanted her to take it. "Don't let the past decide your future." Astrid's hand slowly lifted up, acting upon its own will. As if she was under some form of a trance, she was reaching for his hand. The distance between them closed slowly.

5 inches.

3 inches.

1 inch.

* * *

"What do you mean they left!"

Heather was mad. _Very_ mad. She had been looking for Hiccup. Zyon wasn't the best liar. Heather could see right through him. She always could.

"He just left! He said he had "Unfinished business" and told be not to tell anyone!"

"Well you're still a bad liar, now let me into his hut!"

"Why? I don't think he would like you to steal his stuff."

"When did I ever-"

"The Dragon Eye?" Heather let out a sigh. She hatted being reminded of those events.

"Touche. But still, get out of the way." Without even waiting for a response she barged right past him. Zyon rubbed his forehead, Hiccup was going to kill him!

"Wait- Wait! Oh, well, I'll tell him I tried." Zyon followed Heather without another word. "I told him not to go, but you know he care about everyone else more than he cares for himself. He's persistent, not even Thor himself can tell him no! He's tried to take Viggo head-on, same with everyone else! He'll- OWW!" The windows were closed and the light level wad dim. In his haste, Zyon had tripped over a quarterstaff leaning against a wall. Heather was in hiccup's hut, Holding the note he had left behind. Her eyes squinted in the dim lighting.

"Windshear, can you give some light girl? Slow burn." The room lit up with a calm blue glow. "Let's see... Going to my home... tell Antius and Vius... DO NOT FOLLOW ME! Are You Crazy Hiccup!" Heather chucked her ax at the wall, embedding one of the blades deep in the wall.

"What? What is it?"

"You read it!" She shoved the note into his hands. Zyton un-crumpled it and read it aloud." _Do not follow me unless I do not return._ What has he done this time?" Hiccup had the tendency to go in alone if he believed it would endanger someone else's life.

"If he thinks bringing the rest of us is dangerous, then he's already in over his head." Heather Grabbed a sheet of paper, quickly writing a few sentences. "I'm sending a letter to him, and then we'll go get some back up, Hiccup is going to need it."

"I doubt that-"

"Let me check! Alvin! Dagur! Viggo! Ryker! If he's going solo, he's going on a suicide mission. If he believes it will endanger us, it's far to dangerous for going alone." Heather started to storm out. Zyon grabbed her hand, perplexed. She couldn't be going after him. Could she?

"Where are you going?"

"To get some help! Hiccup's already in trouble! Come on! We have to get going!"

"Who do you have in mind?" Heather could (Whether by accident or not) be cryptic or confusing. On her worst days you'd be lucky to get the general idea of what she meant.

"Hint, he has a shocking card to play." Zyon's eyes stretched wide. His dragon was going to kill him If he let Heather do what he thought she was doing.

"Oh gods no, anyone but him! We're not getting help from-" The door slammed right into his nose. "OW! My nose!"

"Any more complaints?"

"Nope." Zyon quietly moaned. This wasn't going to end well for someone.

* * *

"Good choice." Instantly Astrid felt extreme cold and hot surround her limbs. "What?!" Looking down she saw herself completely covered in a smooth, clear material. "What is this stuff?"

"A safety precaution, I don't trust you" Said the only girl of the group. Her facial expression held enough venom to kill a viking ten times over. Her beast growled at Astrid. "Nothing personal, we just want our friends back."

"Then why did you attack us?" The words slipped out of Astrid's mouth before she could stop them. Everyone stopped and looked at her, as if _she_ had just said something weird.

"Us? Attack you? What is it, opposite day? You tried to kill us." Said the third member of their group. his cloak hid his face in a shadow. but there was a scowl just barely visible. "When I last checked we left our island to end _your_ war! We come here to end it, and you treat it like we're not even human."

"You ride dragons!"

"And so do a whole island of other people. Deal with it. At this rate, you'll have no allies who support this war." These people weren't just crazy, they were delusional to! Had there been an island of riders, Berk should have known! And even Alvin the treacherous hatted them. And he was crazy!

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have a rescue to plan." the Night Rider said. The group turned around, and went to the other side of the cove.

"Great, Just great."

* * *

"Oh that was to close!" Hiccup gasped out load. "If I let too much out she would have known it was me."

"We all know she's going to betray us. She has no reason to help us." Madge crossed her arms, and scowled. "I don't care whether or not you were born here, but these people want us dead!"

"I mean, That girl, Astrid wasn't it? Yeah, she tried to kill me. That's got to mean something top someone here." Vius added with a rather sour tone.

"Still, I don't want them to know who i am! My father would kill me!"

"First off, he wants your alter ego killed. Second, Hiccup, no one on Berk has heard anything about your existence in almost three years." Vius tried to cheer Hiccup up. "No one even has a bow back there! I mean, it looks like i'm going to a more primitive age of humanity!" The last two sentences feel on deaf ears. "Sorry, was trying to lighten the mood."

"When has that ever worked?"

"Guys, we have to focus! My father hates dragons more then ever, so I don't think he'll be very welcoming to Antius."

"Then what do you suggest Hiccup?"

"Well, we'll need a diversion, something that'll get their attention, but not be to obvious as to the fact that we're trying to set our friends free."

"We can handle that." Madge said. "A dragon that can melt anything will-"

"Not anything, just almost anything." Hiccup let out a fake cough, catching their attention.

"Anyways, we'll also need a-" Hiccup was interrupted _again_ by a shrill sound. They all looked up to see a small, snakelike dragon overhead. It landed on Vius's arm. It's body was long and skinny, with four legs adapted to climbing. It's head looked like a Small Shadow's, rounded and smooth, no horns, and small, sharp teeth. It's wings were rather large compared to it's small body. It swooped down and curled around Vius's arm.

"Well, look who's here?" Vius scratched the dragon under the chin. "Do you got something little guy?" It had a message attached to it's leg. ""Let's see... We got mail from Heather. I'll read it." Funny thing was, he didn't. He just tore the letter up. "I am NOT reading that!"

"Might I ask why?" Madge inquired.

"I'll have a talk to Heather on her choice of words later. She's ticked."

"What are you? Profanity filter?" Vius had a habit to correct people for any and all profanity.

"As a matter of fact-"

"I was being sarcastic." Madge added with a very dry tone. "Just tell us what she had to tell us."

"She's going to kill Hiccup for going solo, what else?"

"Can we please focus on getting our friends out of Berk?" These two could give anyone a headache, even Hiccup. "You're giving me a headache! And all because of a messenger dragon..." Hiccup cut himself off from the statement. A messenger dragon... Wait! the dragon! It was a rare and unique species. its flame was very dense and focused, capable of cutting through most metals. It could even charge up shots to cause (Barely) visible damage to _dragon proof_ chains on it's own. and its snake-like body was lean enough to be hidden in one's sleeve. Now _that_ Gave Hiccup an idea. "Alright, I have a plan!"

"Finally! We've been waiting..." Vius paused. "Sooo... The plan?" Hiccup smirked. As a matter of fact, he did. Sort of. "You're smiling. Should I be scared? I don't want to get caught."

"I just might have one... And your not going to like it."


	13. Planning

**Well well well... I'm back...**

 **sorry it's taking so long. summer's around the corner and so are more updates.**

* * *

 _Dragons..._

Dragons had taken his wife, dragons had taken his son, his friends, family, and fellow vikings. _Valka..._ She had been taken from him. That four winged demon took her from him, never to be seen again. He had hopped she'd gotten away, but as time dragged by, he realized it was hopeless. His wife, and hiccup's mother, was dead. Hiccup had to grow up without a mother because of dragons. Stoick wanted to help him more, but Stoick was the chief, and the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Or at least that's what he was taught. He wanted to take care of Hiccup, but it was too painful. He looked so much like his mother, it was impossible not to see her eyes in him. Then, when Hiccup was taken, it was to much. Stoick had hid himself in his hut for almost a week. But being the chief was too important, it had to be done. But less than a week after hiccup left, Gobber found something in the forest. Something that would be feasting at Stoick's heart and soul for three years.

A black scale. A scale of the darkest night, a scale so dark that it could only had belonged to one dragon.

The Night Fury. A _Night Fury_ had taken his son! Stoick's heart had swelled with rage. Dragons had taken EVERYTHING from him! First his beautiful wife, then his only child. Stoick vowed revenge, promising not to give up till his family was avenged.

"I will find that dragon, and I will kill it, no matter how long it takes. I will avenge our son Val."

That moment had been three years ago.

And now was the time for revenge. The Night Fury that had killed his son was now on _his_ island. Stoick would kill all of their dragons, find the nest, and _end_ the war.

He will avenge his family's death.

* * *

But he didn't know how alive they were.

* * *

"I hate this plan." well, to be honest, Vius always did. He explained time and time again that it would either work flawlessly, or end up a failure. While it did provide a good form of criticism, it quickly became a burden over time.

"You hate all my plans."

"I never have a respectable opponent! They're always these people with little to no knowledge about anything other than combat! That's why I play maces and talons at the beginning of every week against you or someone else. And then we have these plans of yours!"

"what about them?"

"This one is overly complex and infringes on chances and luck to work. For another example, this plan-"

"Shut up in case the prisoner hears you!" Madge scolded.

"Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine." Hiccup deadpanned.

"Well of course I am. I'm the only person here with a scrap of common sense. We would be dead 72 times over if it weren't for me." Vius was convinced he was the smartest person in the world. while he was bright, he hated social interaction.

"And you would have the boring life of any viking if you didn't know us." Hiccup replied sharply. Vius let out a prolonged sigh, admitting defeat.

"Alright, you win. I'll suffer through your little game."

"Don't be so over-dramatic." Madge deadpanned. "That attitude will get you killed." She chuckled to herself. "Unless Berk does it first."

"Oh please, the chances of that are-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Any ways." Hiccup interjected. "We had better get on with this plan if we hope to ever get Antius back and end this war. So let's get started."

* * *

Astrid tried to stay aware of her surroundings, but a foreign emotion had grasped her head and clouded her focus. Her breathing wasn't right, and her pulse disproportionately higher that it should've been. The more she focused on it, the more it clawed into her soul. _Get a grip on yourself, you're a viking! Don't be... Don't be... Don't be..._

 _Afraid?_ No, she can't be afraid. Could she? NO! Fear had disgraced her family, Astrid wouldn't let it disgrace her.

But that was before a Monstrous Nightmare had nearly killed her. before she came face to face with a Night fury. For the first time ever, Astrid had truly faced death.

 _Stop it! you have to focus!_ Astrid snapped out of her thoughts, world rearranging itself into a hazy focus. The cove, the dragon riders... and the Night Rider. Astrid was stuck. Her limbs held in place by an almost invisible barrier, a taunt. And then the Night Rider. He and the rest of the dragon riders had put themselves at the far side of the cove, far enough that Astrid couldn't hear them, but close enough to stop her if she ran. They were unlike anything she had ever seen in her life. People that _aligned_ themselves _with_ dragons. That very thought was revolting. But what did they do it? what allowed them to work with demons? What had allowed them to make the Outcasts of all people, go silent? What had made Bark's allies slowly start to disappear? And what had allowed them to take Hiccup? How?

 _Why?_

 _Why_ had they taken Hiccup? These had been the people to take him, but why? why had they taken him? what had been so important about him that they stole him away from his home? And what had led him to follow through and go willingly? And had what they said been right? was he dead? _Why am I so concerned? He was the village runt, he had no friends, he had no support, he was..._

 _Alone. He was all alone, mistreated, and misunderstood. Was that why-?_

"Do you wish to end this war nor not?" Astrid was jolted out of her thoughts by the voices of the dragon riders. they were standing next to her, looks of skepticism plastered onto their faces. It was the girl, her tone was incredibly harsh. "We're getting our friend back, and ending this war." _Who did they think they were, ordering me around like that? I've got to get away from here, I can escape, I'm sure! If I-_ Astrid tried to tun that part of her mind out. It was going to make her dead. _If they don't die first._

"And then? your destroy us like how you burned the outcasts to the ground?" The Night Rider tilted his head at her, as if she were a puzzle. He stepped forward. Their eyes locked. Green eyes. _Forest green eyes._

The same as Hiccup's. It had that same gleam, that same silent intelligence that she had only seen in Hiccup. That look that no one else in the village could hold. _Is that why he left? So he could be with people like him?_ Astrid was jolted out of her thoughts by the Night Rider's voice.

"We have no quarrel with you. We came here to end a war, and we intend to to that. This war he gone on for far too long." He stopped for a moment.

"Why?" Astrid surprised herself with her own tone. It chocked back, swelled with another foreign emotion. One she had never felt before and couldn't identify. "Why did you take him?"

"Take who?"

"Hiccup! You took him from us! He was happy for once!

"He never was, It was but a fleeting glimpse of hope that he would find lasting _joy,_ but you never saw Hiccup no matter what! You saw a screw up, a mistake, Berk should've been happy if he left, and they were!"

"You're wrong!" Astrid's muscles strained to rush and wring his neck. _KILL HIM! He took Hiccup! He deserves to-_ Astrid forced her mind to quiet down. She needed to get that part of her mind under control. Hiccup's disappearance had awakened something odd in her, and it compelled to attack the group in front of her. "You're lying!"

"Am I? The vikings treasured his success, not his character! That success filled his head, but not his heart! There was nothing for him here!"

"That's not true! The is village is his life! It's his home!"

"It _was_!" he yelled. The Night Rider's voice was darker, more intimidating, more _insane_. His eyes burned straight into Astrid's. _Green eyes._ They captured her mind, holding it in a firm grasp. His fists clenched. "It _was_ his home! It _was_ his life! But your home doesn't cast you out as useless! Your life doesn't abandon you when you need it most! Do you know what he had to go through every day of his life!? Of course you don't! You never did! you were never there when he was mocked, when he was ridiculed, when he was _BEAT!_ You were sidelining yourself. You saw what happened, and what did you do?!" Astrid's voice had suddenly left her, only allowing her to open her mouth and let out soundless gasps. He was right, Astrid had paid him no mind. No one did. "What did you do!?" his eyes were cutting into Astrid's very soul, leaving her a shell of her normally brave and heroic self. "Nothing! You did nothing! I didn't take him, he begged me to let him leave! his very soul was scarred by the village! You could never understand that pain!" After this final statement their eye contact shattered. Astrid suddenly felt weak, like his voice had drained her own strength. He regained his composure, their previous engagement seemingly forgotten. "We asked you if you would help us achieve that goal. Will you help us?" His voice was... not quite sincere, but held an undertone that told truth. Astrid's heart continued to ache.

"I will do anything for my village, for Berk..." _Quick you can still get away, warn the village. you can betray them, you can-_ Astrid shushed this part of her mind. it's what got people killed. _But they are the reason Hiccup's not here, they broke the chief's heart._ Astrid shushed her mind again. Why did she care about Hiccup? He had made her look like a fool. But he didn't brag, never mocked them for getting _better_ than all of them combined. There was something special about how he acted, how he- _SHUT UP!_

"Good" He pulled out his sword. It light up into flames. He raised in above his head, and swung down. Astrid held her breath. _Please don't kill me, please don't kill me._ There was a sizzling sound, and a bad burning smell in the air. Not human flesh, luckily. Astrid never wanted to smell that ever in her life. Her knees gave out from under her. Astrid glanced down at her body, intact. Nothing was burned, no damage. the restraints on her body had disappeared. She let out her pent up breath. "We don't want to hurt your people, but this war is bigger than any one of us. the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." w _ait, I've heard that before, but where?_ Before she could finish that thought the other dragon rider spoke up.

"Now, if you can take us to the village, we can-" He never finished that thought as Astrid dove for him. The world slowed down. Adrenaline started coursing through her body once again. She could see both anger and shock on everyone's faces. Astrid reached into her boot and retrieved the knife hidden there. She could feel her body collide with the dragon rider, their body's tumbling to the ground. The dragons had light their fires, but they wouldn't shoot her if she was so close to their ally, at least that what she hoped. Astrid and the rider tumbled, until he kicked her. they both got some distance, but Astrid moved in again. distance would mean death by dragon fire. Astrid moved her arm around the dragons rider's neck, holding her knife tight against it. _Please have some form of morals._ She prayed to the gods. She turned to the two remaining dragon riders.

"Move and I kill him!" Astrid yelled. She really hoped she didn't have to. Dragons she could take, but people were an entirely different matter. She pushed the rider forward, keeping her blade pressed against it.

"I'm warning you, you have no idea who you're messing with. Let him go and we'll let you live." the girl said.

"How about no?" Astrid said dryly. she now had a card to play against the dragon riders, and she wasn't giving it up. "I'm going back to the village with _Him..._ " She tighten her grip on the knife. "as my prisoner. Follow me and he dies. Do _anything_ and he dies." The dragon riders backed off, their beasts still growling. Astrid hoped she could get back to the village safely. And then, she would avenge Hiccup.

* * *

 **That took way to long!**


End file.
